LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



. 






J J MKeM, tilfj.... 

# 1 : 

| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.* 



BIBLE PROOFS 



OF 



UNIVERSAL SALVATION; 

CONTAINING THE 

PRINCIPAL PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE 

THAT TEACH THE 

Final Holiness and Happiness 

OF 



■ V 
BT J. W. HJNSOW, D.D. 



101 

chigago : 



a 



7 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

1877. 

Bthb LIBRARY 
(of congress 

[washington 



3^- 

-* w 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

J. W. HANSON, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Printed by A. .W. Hall & Co. 



iJxriDEis:- 

Abraham's Promise - . 16 

Adam's Punishment H __ . 6 

Adam, the Promise to 15 

Adam, Christ Cancels 5 y 

All are to be Righteous 104 

All, Comfort for.. 88 

All Destined for God 97 

All Righteous ..95, 105 

Anger, God's Limited _. 25 

An Incident. _ 36 

Antediluvians . 9 

Anthem, The First Christmas 35 

Astonished, The People 97 

Attributes, God's, Unlimited 77 

Baptist, John 36 

Be Like God 38 

Building of God, Sure 102 

Cain's Punishment - 8 

Christ Cancels Adam 99 

Christ, God's Image _ 90 

Christ's Mission Accomplished -.. 50 

Comfort for All 88 

Conditional Promise Fulfilled 86 

Conquers, God's Word 30 

Creator, God, the 68 

.Damnation, Resurrection to - 58 

Daniel 32 

Deliverance, Universal 93 

Deluge, The _ 9 

Destined to God, AIL. ~ 97 

Doctrine, Healthful 99 

Doubts God, Man's Infirmity - 28 

Every Soul Worth Saving 88 

Fate of Amnon - 23 

Fatherhood, Universal 40 

Fathers, Gathered to 22 

Final Consummation - 105 

First Christmas Anthem -. - 36 



ii INDEX. 

Gathered to their Fathers 22 

Glad Tidings 92 

Glory, God's.. 103 

God, All in All 102 

God, HatesSin 102 

God, Be Like 1 38 

God, Knowledge of, Gives Peace >_ 25 

God, Man's Infirmity Doubts 28 

God, the Creator 68 

God's Anger Limited > _.. 25 

God's Holiness 69 

God's Image _ _ 90 

God's Justice 70 

God's Love 75 

God's Love Unlimited 79 

God's Mercy 69 

God's Mercy Unlimited 27 

God's Oath 80 

God's Omnipotence __ - _ 74 

God's Omniscience 73 

God's Pleasure 80 

God's Power 78 

God's Purpose 80 

God's Silence 6 

God, A Universal Savior 103 

God's Will 80 

God's Wisdom 78 

God's Word Conquers 30 

God, What He will do 94 

God, What He will not do x 94 

Good Samaritan - 45 

Gospel Leaven - 46 

Gospel, The Word 85 

Healthful Doctrine 99 

Heaven's Joys Certain 89 

Holiness, God's 69 

Hope, Paurs - 92 

Hosea 31 

Image of God, Christ 90 

Incident, An 36 

Infirmity, Man's 28 

Isaiah , 29 



index. iii 

Jeremiah 31 

Jewish Leaven 46 

• Jesus, Meaning of. m 34 

Jesus' Prayer for Murderers 46 

Jesus' Wcrk Accomplished 89 

John, the Baptist 36 

Joys, Heaven's, Certain 89 

Justice, God's •_ 70 

Knowledge of God Gives Peace 25 

Ijeaven, Gospel 46 

Leaven, Jewish _ 46 

Lord's Prayer 40 

Lost Saved _ 47 

Love, God's, Unlimited 79 

Man's' Infirmity Doubts God . 28 

Meaning of Name Jesus 34 

Mercy, God's 69 

Mercy, God's, Unlimited 27 

Micah 32 

Mission, Christ's Accomplished _. 50 

Murderers, Jesus' Prayerfor 66 

Must be Born Again... 88 

Name Jesus, Meaning of.. 34 

Nature of Punishment P 65 

Ninety and Nine -. 49 

No More Sorrow 100 

Obedient, Promises to 19 

Obedience, Universal — 28 

Omniscience, God's -- 73 

Omnipotence, God's - 74 

Pardon, Universal . 98 

Paul's Hope 92 

Paul, Why Persecuted 104 

Peace, Knowledge of God Gives. ._ - 25 

People Astonished - - 98 

Power, God's - 78 

Prayer, Jesus', for Murderers 66 

Prayer, The Lord's 40 

Promise, Conditional, Fulfilled 88 

Promises to Obedient — 19 



IV INDEX. 

Promise to Adam 15 

Prophets, Testimony of 27 

Propitiation, Universal 100 

Punishment, Antediluvians' 9 

Punishment, Nature of 65 

Purpose, God's 82 

Refiner 33 

Resurrect ion 56 

Resurrection to Damnation ^ 58 

Returns to God, The Spirit 23 

Righteous, All 95, 90 

Samaritan, The Good..! 45 

Satan Destroyed 94 

Saved, The Lost 47 

Savior, God Universal : 103 

Scholars, Testimony of _ _ 12 

Silence, God's - - _ 6 

Sin Burned, Sinners Saved 88 

Sin, God Hates 102 

Sin, Satan, etc., Destroyed 94 

Sodom and Gomorrah 10 

Sorrow, No More 100 

Spirit Returns to God 23 

Substance of Things Hoped For 89 

Sure, Building of God 102 

Testimony of Prophets 27 

Their Works Follow Them 100 

Things Hoped for 80 

Threats to Wicked 21 

Tidings, Glad 89 

Universal Dominion 29 

Universal Obedience Prophesied 100 

Unlimited, God's Attributes 77 

"What God will do 94 

What God will not do 94 

Wise Woman 32 

Word Gospel 35 

Wickedest Saved '. 89 

Ye must be Born Again 68 



UNIVERSAL SALVATION 

THE DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE. 



The author of these pages proposes, in the brief- 
est and simplest manner of which he is capable, to 
set forth the leading Scriptural arguments in favor 
of the doctrine of Universal Salvation. He will 
not attempt to exhaust the subject, nor will he en- 
deavor to explain what are called "The Difficult 
Passages," that is, those that are popularly supposed 
to teach a different doctrine. Remanding that task 
— a perfectly easy one — to another volume, a proper 
companion to this, he will only attempt, in these 
pages, to present the prominent considerations that 
are contained in the Bible in support of the final 
redemption of all souls. In this important task he 
invokes the benediction of Almighty God ; praying 
that any word herein contained, that is false, may 
perish, fruitless, while whatever is in harmony with 
the Divine Oracles may bring forth many good re- 
sults in the promotion of truth and righteousness 
in the world. 

5 



THE SILENCE OF GOD. 

The first thought that astonishes the mind when 
the Scriptures are consulted on this great question, 
by one who has taken for granted that they teach 
endless torture, for any part of the human family, 
is 

THE SILENCE OF GOD. 

The Almighty Father of the human family would 
not fail, at the very beginning of human history, 
to announce to his children the penalty of sin. To 
conceal such a doom as that of endless torment from 
any would be cruel treachery towards those whom 
he had created, and who would have the right to 
know all the consequences of disobedience. And 
yet only limited consequences — temporal punish- 
ments — were threatened at the announcement of the 
law to Adam, or when the penalty of their sin was 
referred to, in the history of the earliest trans- 
gressors. If endless punishment were true, it would 
be stated as the threatened penalty of the original 
sin. 

ADAM'S PUNISHMENT. 

But Adam was neither before nor afterward told 
that he had incurred or should receive endless wo. 

Here is the law, and its penalty: 

And the Lord God took the man and put him into 
the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. And 
the Lord God commanded the man, saying. Of every 
tree of the garden thou mayest freely cat; bu of 
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou slialt 
not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou 
shalt surely die. Gen. ii: 15 — 17. 

Adam died as the penalty of his sin. How? This 
threatened death is not (1.) of the body, for physi- 
cal dissolution was the natural result of physical 
organization, and the death threatened was to be 



ADAM'S PUNISHMENT. 7 

" in the day he sinned." His body did not die in that 
day. (2.) It was not eternal death for the same 
reason. He certainly went to no endless hell " in 
the day" of his transgression. It was (3.) a moral, 
spiritual death, from which recovery is feasible. 
Paul describes it: 

Having the understanding darkened, being alien- 
ated from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them, because of the blindness of their 
hearts. Eph. iv: 18. You hath he quickened Who 
were dead in trespasses and sins. Eph. ii: 7. 

Jesus describes it in the parable of the Prodigal 
son: 

It was meet that we should make merry and be 
glad ; for this, thy brother, was dead and is alive 
again, and was lost and is found. Luke xv: 32. 
See, I have set before thee this day life and good, 
and death and evil. I call heaven and earth to re- 
cord this clay against you, that I have set before 
you life and death, blessing and cursing : therefore 
choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. 
Deut. xxx \ 15 — 19. 

Adam died this kind of death and no other i4 in 
the day" he sinned. The death God threatened was 
in this life. The devil denied this penalty. If it 
was any different from that threatened, then the 
devil told the truth. This penalty is described in 
the language used toward Adam after he had 
sinned: 

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hark- 
ened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of 
the tree, of which 1 commanded thee, saying, Thou 
shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy 
sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of 
thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth 
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in 
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou 
return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou 



8 CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. 

taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
return. Gen. in: 17 — 19. 

Would all these consequences be so fully described, 
and the one of surpassing importance be concealed? 
Would God perpetrate a "snap judgment" on his 
poor deluded creatures? Impossible. Our first pa- 
rents died in trespasses and sins, as did the prodigal, 
"in the day" they sinned. The whole penalty to 
which Adam or any other should ever be liable was 
fully described, but not a word of endless punish- 
ment is there. 

CAIN'S PUNISHMENT. 

The case of Cain is equally explicit. What pen- 
alty did the first murderer experience? Here it is 
fully stated: 

And the Lord God said unto Cain, Where is Abel 
thy brother? And he said, I know not; Am I my 
brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou 
done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto 
me from the ground. And now art thou cursed 
from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to 
receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When 
thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield 
unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond 
shalt thou be in the earth; And Cain said unto the 
Lord, my punishment is more than 1 can bear. Be- 
hold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face 
of the earth ; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I 
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; 
and it shall come to pass, that every one that find- 
eth me shall slay me. Gen. iv: 19. 

Not a word of endless punishment for this great- 
est of crimes. "A fugitive and a vagabond in the 
earth," not torment in an endless hell, is the punish- 
ment of the ih-st murderer. His punishments were 
all temporal, and were so understood by him. Is it 
credible that in addition to all this an endless hell 



THE ANTEDILUVIANS. 9 

was in store for this first fratricide, and not a word 
said of the awful doom? 

THE ANTEDILUVIANS. 

Read the detailed account of the Flood and of 
multitudes of antecedent transactions for the 
long period of more than seventeen hundred years, 
and not an instance can be found in which any* 
other than temporal and limited consequences are 
described as the result of sinfulness. 
THE DEL UGE. 

The wicked people who were overwhelmed by the 
deluge were not threatened with endless punish- 
ment. Noah, the first great " preacher of righteous- 
ness," {Titus ii: 5,) did not say a word of it when 
he announced the flood. He threatened drowning, 
but said nothing of post mortem sufferings. Would 
he have spoken of this comparatively slight disaster, 
and conceal the enormous one of endless suffering, 
if he knew anything of it? 

And, behold, I. even I, do bring a flood of waters 
upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the 
breath of life, from under heaven; and everything 
that is in the earth shall die. Gen, vi: 17. The 
earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth 
was filled with violence. And God looked upon the 
earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had 
corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said 
unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; 
for the earth is filled with violence through them; 
and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 
And every living substance was destroyed which 
was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cat- 
tle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the 
heaven ; and they were destroyed from the earth; 
and Noah only remained alive, and they that were 
with him in the ark. Gen. v : 11 — 13 ; 23. 

Just think of charging Gocl with describing the 



10 SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 

height of the waters, the amount of the flood, the 
number of days, and all the small particulars of a 
limited penalty, and entirely overlooking the dread- 
ful fate in store for the millions destroyed! 
SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 
Nothing is said of endless punishment in connec- 
tion with the wicked people of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah. 

Then the Lord God rained upon Sodom and upon 
Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of 
heaven ; and he overthrew those cities and all the 
plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and all that 
which grew upon the ground. And Abraham gat 
up early in the morning to the place where he stood 
before the Lord, and he looked toward Sodom and 
Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and 
beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up 
as the smoke of a furnace. Gen. xix: 24 — 28. 

The fire and brimstone that these people suffered 
were here, in this world. And that it was limited 
is evident from the following: 

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daugh- 
ter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin 
of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and 
no hands stayed on her. Lam. iv: 6. 

Jerusalem experienced a greater punishment than 
Sodom, as we know from the words of Jesus: 

Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time. No, 
nor ever shall be. Matt, xxiv : 21. 

All this shows that the suffering was in this world. 
The Sodomites never received a hint that they 
were exposed to endless punishment, nor is there 
any record that they ever went to such a doom. 
VARIOUS INSTANCES. 

The wicked whose character is described from 
Adam to Moses, a period of twenty-five hundred 



VARIOUS INSTANCES. 11 

years, are never threatened with endless punish- 
ment, nor is it ever said to have been visited upon 
any. The builders of Babel, Joseph's brethren, 
Pharaoh, many wicked people are there threatened 
and punished, but not a word is said of endless 
punishment. Is it credible that for twenty-five 
hundred years God should have led men along to 
the brink of the grave, threatening them with all 
sorts of things, and entirely conceal this doom, 
which, if true, should have been reiterated to all 
from the cradle to the grave ? 

The punishments of sin are thus described two 
thousand five hundred years after Adam : 

It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken 
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to 
do all his commandments and statutes which I com- 
mand thee this day; that all these curses shall come 
upon thee, and overtake thee : Cursed shalt thou be 
in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy, store. Cursed 
shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy 
land, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of 
thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thoucomest 
in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 
The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation 
and rebuke in all that thou settest thine hand unto 
for to do. . . He shall smite thee with consump- 
tion, and with a fever, with blasting and mildew; 
etc. In the morning thou shalt say * 4 Would God it 
were even," and at even thou shalt say, " Would 
God it were morning." Deut. xxviii: 15 —29, 67. 

All through the Old Testament, subsequent to 
the enunciation of the law, the wicked who are 
spoken of are never threatened with any but tem- 
poral penalties. Abimelech is a case in point : 

Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, 
which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy 
brethren. Judges ix: 56. 

So with Ahithophel, the suicide: 



12 THE TESTIMONY OF SCHOLARS. 

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was 
not followed, h^ put his household in order, and 
hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the 
sepulchre of his father. II. Sam. xvii: 23. 

Is it asked how this suicide was punished? Paul 
answers : 

Some men's sins are open beforehand, going be- 
fore to judgment. / Tim. v: 24. 

Hence Paul tells us that under the Law 
Every transgression and disobedience received a just 
recompense of reward. Heb. ii : 2. 

Now for four thousand years every wicked act 
was fully punished in this life. "Every transgres- 
sion and disobedience received a just recompense of 
reward." Would God have an endless hell and keep 
it a secret from the world for four thousand years ? 
Would he keep sinners for four thousand years from 
a hell he had made, and then use it as a prison for 
other sinners no worse ? No ; the silence of God for 
forty centuries *is a demonstration that he had no 
such place reserved for any of his children. 

If God all the time he was threatening these lim- 
ited consequences of sin, intended to inflict a doom 
compared to which all these are as nothing, then he 
deceived the people, for this is the full statement of 
the law : 

These are the statutes and judgments and laws, 
which the Lord made between him and the children 
of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. Lev. 
xx vi : 46. 

The laws of Moses enumerate many forms of 
punishment, many different penalties, but never 
lisp a hint of endless wo. 

THE TESTIMONY OF SCHOLABS. 

That endless punishment is not revealed in th« 
law, the wisest theologians of all creeds agree: 



THE TESTIMONY OF SCHOLARS. 13 

Warburton : In the Jewish Republic, both the 
rewards and punishments promised by heaven were 
temporal only. Such as health, long life, peace, 
plenty, and dominion, etc. Diseases, premature 
death, war, famine, want, subjections, and captivity, 
etc. And in no one place of the Mosaic Institutes 
is there the least mention, or intelligible hint, of 
the rewards and punishments of another life. — 
Div. Leg, vol. Hi. — Jahn : We have not authority, 
therefore, decidedly to say, that any other motives 
were held out to the ancient Hebrews to pursue the 
good and avoid the evil, than those which were de- 
rived from the rewards and punishments of this life. 
Archaeology p. 398. — Milman: The law-giver 
(Moses) maintains a profound silence on that fun- 
damental article, if not of political, at least of re- 
ligious legislation — rewards and punishments in 
another life. He substituted temporal chastise- 
ments and temporal blessings. On the violation of 
the constitution followed inevitably blighted har- 
vests, famine, pestilence, defeat, captivity; on its 
maintenance, abundance, health, fruitfulness, vic- 
tory, independence. How wonderfully the event 
verified the prediction of the inspired legislator! 
How invariably apostasy led to adversity — repent- 
ance and reformation to prosperity! Hist. Jews, 
vol. i. — Dr. Campbell: It is plain that. in the 
Old Testament the most profound silence is ob- 
served in regard to the state of the deceased, their 
joys and sorrows, happiness or misery. 

If, then, the penalties of sin are limited in dura- 
tion, we can understand this reticence, even though 
those penalties should continue in the future state, 
but if God meant all the time he was thus declaring 
temporal consequences, to inflict endless torment, 
he was deceiving his children — an impossible sup- 
position. 

Were endless punishment true, the Garden of 
Eden should have sighed the awful tidings from all 
its leaves, it should have been thundered from the 



14 THE TESTIMONY OF SCHOLARS. 

rocky pulpit of Sinai, and have been shrieked into 
the ears of every transgressor from Adam down. 
Would a good being, a Father, would a decent be- 
ing, any one better than a demon, sum up and 
particularize a score of trivial penalties, and con- 
ceal the one that should be mentioned most of all? 
Would a wicked human king threaten three months' 
imprisonment, say, for crime, and then behead the 
criminal, when convicted, all the time concealing 
from him this capital penalty? Is it supposable 
that God would stay to talk about drought, and 
fever, and scab, and itch, when he had intended to 
burn, or even to imprison in an endless hell? Such 
a supposition is too enormous for the human mind 
to cherish. 

The silence of God for four thousand years, the 
fact that he never hinted at such a doom, demon- 
strates that it was not then impending, and if not 
then, under the severe dispensation of Moses, it is 
impossible that it should be found in the milder 
message of the Gospel of the grace of God. 

Kow all Christians admit that the people in the 
times of the Old Testament accepted the doctrine 
of the resurrection. Is not the fact that nothing is 
said to the contrary prima facie evidence that the 
resurrection state was by them regarded as one in 
which all was to be well? Is not the silence of the 
Scriptures concerning any evil fate there, a powerful 
argument in behalf of the New Testament doctrine 
of the resurrection, that all there are equal to the 
angels ? 

But let us proceed to some of the most striking 
of the positive declarations teaching universal sal- 
vation. We adduce first: 



THE PROMISE TO ADAM. 15 

THE PBOMISE TO ADAM. 

While we would not claim that God gave to Adam 
a distinct declaration that our first parent under- 
stood to mean universal salvation, we are certain 
that he gave him the germ of that sublime result 
when he announced the consequences of the warfare 
between man and evil. After Adam had sinned, the 
first promise was given: 

I will put enmity between thee (the serpent,) and 
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it 
shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. 
Gen. Hi: 15. 

This was an announcement of the destruction of 
Satan, the tempter and enemy of man, inasmuch as 
a wound on the head of a serpent indicates his de- 
struction, while a wound on the heel of man is not 
irremediable. What is the serpent? It is ex- 
plained as follows: 

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of 
his own lust and enticed. From whence come wars 
and fighting amongst you? come they not hence, 
even of the lusts that war in your members? James, 
i: 14; iv: 1. 

But Satan and his works, the lusts and sins of 
mankind, are to be destroyed: 

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of 
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part 
of the same; that through death he might destroy 
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, 
and deliver them who, through fear of death, were, 
all i heir life-time, subject to bondage. Heb. ii: 14, 
15. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 
that he might destroy the works of the devil. I. John, 
Hi: 8. So Denth and Hell were cast into the lake of 
fire. Bev. xx : 14. 
And the apostle exulted over their destruction: 
Oh Death where is thy sting? Oh Grave where 
is thy victory ?. I. Cor. xv : 55. 



16 THE ABRAHAMIC PROMISE. 

The promise to Adam was fulfilled in Christ, who 
came to vanquish the vanquisher, and who placed in 
operation those means that will result in delivering 
man from all his foes, death, hell, the devil, and the 
works of the devil. The original promise to Adam 
contained in embryo the idea of universal deliverance 
through Christ, 

THE ABBAHAMIC PBOMISE. 

How can any believer in the Bible escape the con- 
clusion that the reconciliation of all men to God is 
taught in the promise to Abraham ? 

Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee 
out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from 
thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee ; 
and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will 
bless thee, and make thy name great; and thoushalt 
be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee; 
and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall 
all families of the earth be blessed. Gen, xii: 1 — 3 
And the Angel of the Lor called unto Abrahan out 
of heaven the second time and said, By myself I 
have sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast 
done this i hing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine 
only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in 
multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 
the heaven, and as the sand which is pon the sea 
shore : and thy eed shall possess the gate of his ene- 
mies : and n thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Gen, 
xxii : 15 — 18. Ye are the children of the prophets, 
and of the covenant which God made with our 
fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall 
all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you 
first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to 
bless you, in turning away every one of you from 
his iniquities. Acts Hi: 25, 26. 

I. It is a Universal Promise, Every human being 
who ever lived or ever shall live is ncluded in " all 
the nations families and kindreds of the earth." 



THE ABRAHAMIC PROMISE. 17 

II. The blessing is Christian Salvation. Now to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He 
saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, 
and to thy seed which is Christ. Gal. in : 16. 

III. It consists in a Gospel Blessing. And the 
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the 
heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel 
to Abraham, saying: In thee shall all nations be 
blessed. Gal. Hi: 8. 

IV. It is Salvation from Sin, through faith. Know 
ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same 
are the children of Abraham. And the scripture fore- 
seeing that God would justify the heathen through 
faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, say- 
ing, In thee all nations shall be blessed. 80 then they 
which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 
Gal. Hi: 7, 8, 9. It included the murderers of Christ. 
But ye denied the Holy One, and the Just, and de- 
sired a murderer to be granted unto you; And 
killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised from 
the dead: whereof we are witnesses. Ye are the 
children of the prophets, and of the covenant which 
God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, 
And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be 
blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his 
Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away 
every one of you from his iniquities. Acts Hi : 14, 15: 
25, 26. 

V. It is to be fulfilled in the resurrection. And now 
I stand and am judged for. the hope of the promise 
made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise 
our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and 
night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King 
Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should 
it be thought a thing incredible with you, that 
God should raise the dead? Acts, xxvi: 6. 8. 
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both 
sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that 
within the veil whither the forerunner is for us 
entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever after 
the order of Melchisedec. Heb. vi: 19, 20. 

VI. It has been attested by the Oath of God. For 



18 THE ABRAHAMIC PROMISE. 

when God made promise to Abraham, because he 
could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, say- 
ing, surely, blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying, 
I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently 
endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily 
swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation 
is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, wil- 
ling more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of 
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed 
it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in 
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might 
have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge 
to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope 
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and 
steadfast, and which entereth into that within the 
vail: whither the forerunner is for us entered, even 
Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of 
Melchisedec. Heb. vi: 13 — 20. 

"VII. Marts unbelief vrill not prevent its fulfilment. 
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbe- 
lief make the faith of God without effect? God 
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar: 
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in 
thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art 
judged. Bom Hi: 3 — 5. If we believe not. yet 
he abide th faithful : he cannot deny himself. II Tim. 
ii: 13. 

VIII. Man's disobedience will not always exist. 
And this I say, that the covenant that was con- 
firmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 
four hundred and thirty ye irs after, can not disan- 
nul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 
GaL Hi: 17. 

IX. All the conditions ar° to be complied with, and 
it is so certain that it is spoken of as already ac- 
complished. And the Lor I said, Shall I hide from 
Abraham that thing which 1 do; seeing that Abra- 
ham shall surely become a <?reat and mighty nation, 
and all the nations of the eirth shall be blessed in 
him ? Gen. xviii : 17, 18. 

X. Abraham believed it. Even as Abraham be- 
lieved God, and it was accounted to him for 



THE PROMISES TO THE OBEDIENT. 19 

righteousness. Gal. Hi: 6. He staggered not at 
the promise of God through unbelief; but was 
strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being 
fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was 
able also to perform. And, therefore, it was impu- 
ted to him for righteousness. Bom. iv: 20. 

XI. All Christians are required tu believe it. Now, 
it was not written for his sake alone, that it was 
imputed to him : But for us also, to whom it shall 
be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up 
Jesus our Lord from the dead. Who was delivered 
for our offences, and was raised again »for our justi- 
fication. Bom. iv: 23 — 25. 

Thus God's promise to Abraham is (1) a universal 
one, (2) of Christian salvation, (3) consisting in a 
Gospel blessing, (4) of deliverance from sin, includ- 
ing even the murderers of Christ, (5) and will be 
finally fulfilled in the resurrection, to which (6) the 
oath as well as (7) the promise of God is pledged, 
and (8) against which man's unbelief, (9) and sin- 
fulness will not always be opposed, but (10) all the 
conditions will be complied with, and it is so clearly 
stated that (11) Abraham believed it, and enjoyed 
the righteousness that comes through faith, and (12) 
all men are under obligations to see in Christ the 
promised seed that will deliver humanity from sin. 
Can Scriptural demonstration go beyond this posi- 
tive language ? 

THE PBOMISES TO THE OBEDIENT 

In the Old Testament teach that immortal bless- 
edness is not, but that limited happiness and pros- 
perity are the reward of goodness : 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; 
nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the 
pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the de- 
struction that waste th at noonday. He shall call 



20 THE PROMISES TO THE OBEDIENT. 

upon me, and I will answer him ; I will be with him 
in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With 
long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salva- 
tion. Ps. xci:l-\6. Great peace have they which love 
thy law : and nothing- shall offend them. Ps. cxix: 165. 
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; 
and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall he 
shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord up- 
holdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and 
now am old; yet have 1 not seen the righteous for- 
saken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever mer- 
ciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is blessed. Ps. xxxvii : 
23 — 25. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose 
mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. 
Isa. xxvi : 3. My son, forget not in)' law, but let thine 
heart keep my commandments, for length of days 
and long life, and peace shall they add to thee. Let 
not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about 
thy neck: write them upon the table of thine heart: 
So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in 
the sight of God and man. Prov. Hi: 1—4. See. 1 have 
set before thee this day life and good, and death 
and evil in that I command thee this day to love 
the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep 
his commandments, and his statutes, and his judg- 
ments that thou mayest live and multiply; and the 
Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither 
thou goest to possess it. Dent, xxx: 15 — 16. And 
it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently 
to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to 
do all his commandments which 1 command thee this 
day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high 
above all nations of the earth: And all these bless- 
ings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou 
shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt 
thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy 
body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy 
cattle, the increase of thy kine. and the flocks of 
thy sheep. Blessed shalt be thy basket and thy 
store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, 
and blest shalt thou be when thou goest out. The 
Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against 



THE THREATS TO THE WICKED. 21 

thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come 
out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven 
ways. The Lord shall command the blesssing upon 
thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest 
thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord 
shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as 
he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the 
commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in 
his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that 
thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they 
shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make 
thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, 
and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of 
thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto 
thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto 
thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain 
unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the 
work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many 
nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord 
shall make thee the head and not the tail; and thou 
shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; 
if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the 
Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to 
observe and to do them. Deut. xxviii: 1 — 13. 

This was the reward, and the extent of it, of well 
doing. Exactly opposite were 

THE THEE ATS TO THE WICKED. 

These were not endless but limited, not hereafter 
but here. 

Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. 
Prov. xxii: 5. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the 
wickedness of them that dwell therein. Ps.cvii: 45. 
The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can- 
not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There 
is no peace saith my God, to the wicked. Isa. Ivii: 
20, 21. This is the portion of a wicked man with 
God, and the heritage of the oppressors, which 
they shall receive of. the Almighty. If his children 
be multiplied, it is for the sword; and his off-spring 
shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that re- 



22 GATHERED TO THEIR FATHERS. 

main of him shall be buried in death: and his 
widows shall not weep. Though he heap up silver 
as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay ; he may 
prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the in- 
nocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his 
house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper 
maketh. The rich man shall lie down but he shall 
not be gathered; he openeth his eyes, and he is not. 
Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest 
stealeth him away in the night. The east wind 
carrieth him away, and he departeth:andasastorm 
hurleth him out of his place. For God shall cast 
upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of 
his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him and, 
shall hiss him out of his place. Job. xxvii : 13 — 23. 
To attempt to quote all the passages that teach 
this doctrine would be to cite every precept and 
every declaration in the Old Testament. All that 
refers to Adam, Cain, the Antediluvians, Sodom and 
Gomorrah, Lot's Wife, Pharaoh, the Egyptians, 
Ahab, Solomon, Jeroboam, Absalom, Amnon, David, 
the Israelites, teaches that all are visited by limited, 
temporal punishments and pains, and the doctrine 
is continually taught, that after the wrath of God 
has run its full career in pain and penalty to rhe 
transgressor, the Divine Mercy remains unspent 
and inexhaustible. 

GATHEBED TO THEIR FATHERS. 

The reader of the Old Testament is frequently 
met by passages that demonstrate that the ancient 
worthies who spoke as they were moved by the 
Holy Spirit, cherished this sublime faith. Is not 
this the teaching of such passages as these: 

Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a 
good old age, an old man, and full of years; and 
was gathered to his people. And these are the 
years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty 
and seven years : and he gave up the Ghost and died, 



THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD. 23 

and was gathered to his people. And Isaac gave 
up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his 
people, being old and full of d;iys. And when Jacob 
had made an end of commanding his sons, he gath- 
ered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the 
ghost, and was gathered unto his people. Gen. xxv : 
8, 17 ; xxxv : 29 ; xlix; 33. 

They all went to "one place" to meet the "great 
majority," and there is no hi'nt that any part of 
them went to any endless prison house. Indeed, 
the testimony is that at death all go to God. 
THE SPIBIT BETUBNS TO GOD. 

Solomon declared, when describing the dissolution 
of the body: 

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: 
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 
Eccl. xii: 7. 

He depicts the destiny of every member of the 
body: the "keepers of the house," the hands; the 
"strong men," the legs; " the lookers out at the 
windows," the eyes ; "the silver cord," the spinal mar- 
row; "the golden bowl," the skull; "the pitcher at 
the fountain, the wheel at the cistern," the heart; 
all these become dust. Would he not tell us the fate 
of the soul ? He does. It " returns to God who 
gave it." There, in the hands of its maker and 
owner, it cannot fail to be cared for. 

THE FATE OF AMNOlSf. 

Incidental passages frequently occur in the Old 
Testament showing that the Bible worthies enter- 
tained the idea that the next state of existence is 
an improved one, even to those who die in sin. We 
find an instance where it reads: 

And the soul of King David longed to go forth 
unto Absalom, for he was comforted concerning 
Amnon seeing he was dead. II Sam. xiii: 39. 



24 THE FATE OF AMNON. 

The king of Israel loved his two sons, but when 
the wickeder of them died, he felt at ease concern- 
ing him, was even comforted, while he still mourned 
over the living one. Why? Because he believed in 
his heart that he had gone where u the wicked cease 
from troubling and the weary are at rest." Job in: 
17. Would David have been comforted concerning 
his sou who committed a horrible and nameless 
crime, and died drunk, had he believed that he had 
gone to a world of endless torment? Xo, he was 
comforted because he believed he had bettered his 
condition. This harmonizes with what his son 
Solomon subsequently said: 

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions 
that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of 
such as were oppressed, and thev had no comforter; 
and on the side of their oppressors there was power; 
but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised 
the dead which are already dead, more than the 
living which are yet alive. Eccl. iv : 1, 2. 

When the wise seer uttered these words millions 
of sinners had died — the ante-diluvians, the people 
of the wicked cities, and multitudes besides, and 
yet he could say of the dead — all the dead — they 
are more to be praised, that is, better off, than the 
living. He therefore agreed with his father David 
that those who leave this world improve their con- 
dition. He teaches that those who lay aside what 
Paul calls " the body of this death," our earthly 
nature, are in improved relations. They cannot, 
therefore, be in a state of ceaseless torment, but 
must be in a world where Divine disciplines are 
being administered, for the purpose of working out 
the redemption of the sinner- The dead are not 
more to be praised than the living unless they are 
better, purer, holier; and no father, loving a son, 



KNOWLEDGE OF GOD GIVES PEACE. 25 

could be comforted because he was dead, unless he 
believed in his heart of hearts that he was better, 
happier, and so better off than when living. David 
mourned over wicked Absalom, living, but was 
reconciled, " comforted," as he thought of wicked 
Amnon, dead. The dead son must have been better 
off than the living son. 

Let us glance at a few of the declarations in the 
Old Testament, confessedly less numerous and less 
explicit than those of the New Testament, and yet 
developing the increasing purpose that grows and 
augments from the beginning to the end of Reve- 
lation. 
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD GIVES PEACE. 

Job says: " Acquaint thyself with God and be at 
peace. Job. xxii: 21. If he were the being the 
creeds describe, the better we knew him the more 
we should be tormented. Ignorance of his character 
would be the soul's bliss. But the better he is 
known the more peace the soul enjoys. Hence he 
must be incapable of torturing the soul forever, or 
punishing it more than its good demands. It is 
ignorance of God that makes the soul unhappy, 
while knowledge of him renders the soul peaceful. 
Hence it follows that God has no attribute that 
would harm or injure. To know his purposes, to 
understand his disposition, to see him as he is, 
gives joy. 

GOD'S AN GEE IS LIMITED 
A great number of passages of Scripture speak of 
what the Bible calls God's anger or wrath — meaning 
thereby his disapprobation and punishment of sin 
— as limited, brief and destined to end, frequently 
contrasting it with his mercy, which, it is said, 



26 god's anger is limited. 

will neTer end, and declaring that the sonl of man 
could not exist as the victim of endless wrath. 

God's delight is in mercy, and he displays anger 
towards men for their benefit, and when the purpose 
of the anger is accomplished, mercy is resumed. 

He retaineth not his anger forever because he 
delighteth in mercy. Micah.vii: 18. The Lord is 
merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous 
in mercy. He will not always chide; neither will 
he keep his anger forever. Ps. tiii : 8, 9. For his 
anger endureth but a moment: in his favor is life; 
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in 
the morning. Ps. xxx: 5. In a little wrath I hid 
my face from thee for a moment, but with everlast- 
ing kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the 
Lord, thy Redeemer. Isa. liv : 8. 

One reason why God will not "be angry forever" 
is, because no soul could endure the storm of God's 
endless wrath. The benevolence of God is demon- 
strated in the statute of limitations, by which when 
pain becomes unendurable, the victim dies. Endless 
torture no soul could endure. 

For I will not contend forever, neither will I be 
always wroth: for the spirit would fail before me 
and the soul which 1 have made. Isa, Ivii: 16. Hence, 
The Lord will not cast off forever; but, though he 
cause grief, yet will he have compass-ion according 
to the multitude of his mercies, for he doth not 
afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. 
Lam, Hi; 31 — 33. 

God could not be angry with any soul forever, 
because it would be infinite folly in him to do so. 
The wise man says: 

Anger resteth in the bosom of fools ! " Eccl. vii : 9. 

Can it rest forever in the great heart of infinite 
wisdom? Preposterous thought, Anger is con- 
trary to God's nature, but mercy is his delight. 
Hence 



god's mercy is unlimited. 27 

GOD'S MEBGY IS UNLIMITED. 

0, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good; for 
his mercy endure th forever. Ps. cvii: 1. 

In Psalm cxxxvi. this language, "his mercy en- 
dureth forever" occurs twenty times. There never 
can come a moment, in the endless existence of the 
sinner, when he cannot resort to the fountain of 
infinite mercy, and find a full supply of Divine 
grace. It is for all souls, and the fountain will ever 
be accessible. 
THE TESTIMONY OF THE PBOPHETS. 

The prophets often " builded better than they 
knew," and uttered truths which later generations 
comprehended better than they did themselves. 
Especially is this true of some of their utterances 
concerning man's final destiny. Even in the times 
of our Savior, the prophets were not understood 
even by those who professed to follow them. For 
instance, the Sadducees did not accept the doctrine 
of the resurrection, while they professed to follow 
Moses, and yet Jesus told them that God taught the 
resurrection to Moses when he said: 

I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, 
and the God of Jacob, for God is not the God of 
the dead but of the living. Luke xx: 38. 

So the Apostle declares : 

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was 
preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive 
until the times of restitution of all things, which 
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy 
prophets since the world began. Acts Hi; 20, 21. 

We have shown that Moses prophesied the de- 
struction of man's passions and sins, when he 
announced the death of the serpent. And we must 
accept the declaration of the Apostle that all the 
holy prophets, ever since the beginning of the world, 



28 UNIVERSAL OBEDIENCE. 

foresaw and foretold " the restitution of all things." 
Let us consult a few of the prophetic declarations. 
The sweet singer of Israel often utters the great 
truth on which he built the hopes he cherished. 
UNIVEBSAL OBEDIENCE. 

He shall come down like rain upon the mown 
grass; as showers that water the earth. In his days 
shall the righteous flourish: and abundance of peace 
so long as the moon endureth. He shall have do- 
minion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the 
ends of the earth. Ps. Ixxii : 6 — 8. All the ends of 
the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; 
and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship 
before thee. Ps. xxii : 27. All nations whom thou 
hast made shall come and worship before thee, O 
Lord; and shall glorify thy name. Ps. Ixxxvi: 9. 

This is David's method of expressing universal 
obedience. 

MAN'S INFIBMITY DOUBTS GOD'S 
GOODNESS. 

He regards doubt of God's universal and unending 
goodness as an infirmity of man, founded on no 
reality in God's purpose or disposition. Hence he 
declares : 

Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be 
favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? 
doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God for- 
gotten to be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his 
tender mercies? Selah. And I said, This is my in- 
firmity: but I will remember the years of the right 
hand of the Most High. — Ps. Ixvii: 7 — 10. For he 
says, The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to 
anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always 
chide: neither will he keep his anger forever. Ps. 
Ho: 8 — 9. For his anger endureth but a moment; 
in his favor is life; weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy cometh in the morning. Ps. xxx: 5. If his 
children forsake my law, and walk not in my judg- 
ments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my 



UNIVERSAL DOMINION. 29 

commandments; then will I visit their transgres- 
sions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes, 
nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly 
take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 
Ps. Ixxxix: 30 — 33. 

UNIVEBSAL DOMINION. 

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; 
slow to anger and of great mercy. The Lord is 
good to all and his tender mercies are over all his 
works. Ps. clxv : 8. 9. All nations whom thou hast 
made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, 
and shall glorify thy name. Ps. lxxxvi:9. O thou 
that nearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. 
Ps. Ixv: 2. All the ends of the earth shall remem- 
ber and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds 
of the nations shall worship before thee. Ps. xxii*: 
27. 

See also his faitli in the welfare of his wicked son 
Amnon as expressed heretofore. We might here 
rehearse his triumphant exultations concerning the 
brevity of God s anger, and the endless duration of 
his mercy, elsewhere found in the Psalms. He evi- 
dently looked forward to the expiration of God's 
anger, and the triumph of Divine mercy and grace 
in all souls. 

THE PBOPHET ISAIAH 
Uttered some of the most comprehensive and 

glorious of all the statements of this doctrine ever 

framed by human lips or pen. 
He will swallow up death in victory; and the 

Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. 

Is a. xxv : 8. 

If we have any doubt whether this teaches univer- 
sal deliverance from death and sorrow, in other 
words, whether the prophet inculcates universal 
life, and happiness, we have but to turn to I Cor. 
xv. where Paul quotes it, and applies it to the final 
3 



30 god's word conquers. 

resurrection, so that if Paul has not made a mistake, 
Isaiah, in this language teaches the restitution of all 
things to God. 

GOD'S WOBD CONQUEBS. 

Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
earth, for I am God, and there is none else. I have 
sworn by myself; the word is gone out ot my mouth 
in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me 
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, 
surely shall saj r : "In the Lord have I righteousness 
and strength." Isa. xlv : 24 — 27. 

Here is universal worship and service. 

He, (Christ) shall see of the travail of his soul, 
and shall be satisfied. Jsa. liii: 11. 

As he died to redeem all souls, and is satisfied 
with the result, it follows that the purpose of his 
mission was accomplished. 

The triumph of God's grace is thus described: 

As the rain cometh down, and the snow from 
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth 
the earth and inaketh it bring forth and bud that it 
may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, 
so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 
mouth, it shall not return unto me void, but it shall 
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper 
in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa. Iv : 10, 11. 

The Divine word is irresistible, and it has gone 
forth to compel every soul to confess righteousness 
and strength in the Lord. This certainly was a 
prophetic anticipation of the universal reign of 
Christ. The prophet must have boen inspired by 
the spirit of this faith when he inquired: 

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she 
should not have compassion on the son of her 
womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget 
thee. Isa. xlix: 15. 

God will never forget a child of his or cease to 
care for it, or neglect it, and can only fail to restore 



JEREMIAH. 31 

it to himself from lack of means, a lack we cannot 
impute to one whose wisdom and power are infinite. 

JEBEMIAH 
Foresaw the grand result when he declared: 

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and 
with the house of Judah: Not according to the cov- 
enant that I made with their fathers, in the day 
that I took them by the hand to bring them out of 
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, 
although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. 
But this shall be the covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel: After those days, saith 
the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts, and will be their God 
and they shall be my people. And they shall teach 
no more every man his neighbor, and every man 
his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall 
all know me from the least of them unto the" great- 
est of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their 
sin and I will remember their iniquity no more. 
Je.r, xxxi: 31 — 34, 

It will at once be perceived that this language is 
uttered of the Jews, but it should be remembered 
that the Jews cannot be saved till after the Gentiles 
are redeemed. 

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be igno- 
rant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your 
own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to 
Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. 
And so all Israel shall be saved. Bom, xi : 25, 26. 

This is the substance of his declaration found in 
Lam, Hi: 31, 32. Thus even the " weeping prophet" 
saw the bow of promise in the sky, beheld " the 
rainbow round about the throne!" 

HOSEA 
Agrees with his brethren, the prophets. 

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; 
I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be 



32 MICAH. 

thy plagues: O grave, I will be thy destruction: 
repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Hos. xiii: 
14. 

We are not left in doubt as to the meaning of this 
language for Paul quotes it inlCor.xv* and declares 
that it denotes the anastasis, or ascension of all hu- 
manity to a condition of holiness and happiness. 
EvenHosea foresaw the destruction of hell, and the 
delivery of its inhabitants at the final resurrection. 
MICAH. 

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth 
iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the 
remnant of his heritage ? he retaineth not his anger 
forever because he delighteth in mercy. He will 
turn again, he will have compassion upon us: he 
will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all 
their sins into the depth of the sea. Thou wilt 
perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abra- 
ham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from 
the days of old. Mic. vii: 18, 19, 20. 
. This reference to the promise to Abraham, coupled 
with the declaration that he retaineth not his an- 
ger forever, harmonizes with the idea expressed by 
DANIEL : 

And there was given him dominion, and glory, 
and a kingdom, that all people, nations and lan- 
guages should serve him : his dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, which shall no pass away, and 
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 
Dan. vii : 14. 

Thus, whatever may be the extent of sin, or its 
duration, even those who had not seen the fullness 
of the Gospel as revealed by him u who brought life 
and immortality to light," were able to agree with 

THE "WISE WOMAN;' 
Who told King David: 

For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on 



A REFINER. 33 

the ground which cannot be gathered up again, 
neither doth God respect any person, yet doth he 
devise means, that his banished be not expelled 
from him. // Sam. xiv : 14. 

The Prophet Malachi comprehended this when he 
called Jesus 

A BE F I NEB. 

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. 
Mai. Hi: 3. 

The silver refiner kindles the fire beneath his 
crucible that he may purge the dross away from the 
precious metal, and when he can see his perfect 
image reflected in the molten mass, his task is done. 
So Jesus will pursue his great work till the dross 
of sin shall be purged from all hearts, and every 
soul shall fc4 resemble the Son as the Son resembles 
the Father." In thus designating Jesus as the 
Refiner, the prophet foretold " the Divine event to 
which the whole creation moves," when 

" O'er every foe victorious, 

He on his throne shall rest. 
From age to age more glorious — 

All blessing and all blest. 
The tide of time shall never 

His covenant remove. 
His name shall stand forever,— 

That name to us is Love." 

Thus the end of the elder dispensation harmon- 
izes with its beginning, when the universe was 
finished, and all that God had made was pronounced 
very good. 

And God saw everything that he had made, and 
behold, it was very good." Gen. i : 31. 

We have thus briefly denoted the more prominent 
considerations in behalf of our blessed faith that 
are recorded in the Old Testament. It was not to 



34 THE NAME JESUS. 

be expected that the dim twilight of Revelation 
would be radiant with the glory that bursts from 
the cross. Having beheld the dawning of the truth, 
let us turn with delight to the glory that streams 
from the Sun of Righteousness. In the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ we shall find the truth so plainly 
revealed that "he who runs may read," and "the 
wayfaring man need not err," as he consults the 
declarations of him " who spake as man never spake," 
and the words of his disciples who repeated the 
blessed truths they had heard him utter. 

The great truth of universal redemption is taken 
for granted, or expressed on nearly every page. 
THE NAME JESUS. 

Before the birth of Jesus the Angel of the Lord 
comprehended the grand result when he said to 
Joseph, 

Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save 
his people from their sins." Matt, i: 21. 

He is to save his people. Who are his people ? 
Sinners, for they are to be saved from their sins. 
How many sinners will he reach and redeem ? 

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for a possession. Ps. ii: 8. The Father loveth 
tke Son, and hath given all things into his hands. 
John Hi : 35. 

In one sense, in the sense employed in this pas- 
sage, the people of Christ are sinners, and all 
sinners are his people, and as " no man liveth and 
si nne th not," the expression "his people" denotes 
all men. The apostle illustrates the thought when 
he says : 

God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that 
he might have mercy upoi all. Bom. xi: 32. 



THE WORD GOSPEL. 35 

The heavenly messenger made his name, Jesus, 
(one who saves,) an epitome of his character and 
mission. He is entitled to be called Jesus, because he 
will deliver his people, sinners, all men from trans- 
gression and sin. 

THE WOBD GOSPEL. 

The word Gospel, (Anglo Saxon, "good spell,") 
signifies good news, glad tidings. Nothing so 
deserves this description as the doctrine that an- 
nounces the deliverance of universal humanity from 
sin and sorrow ; and this Gospel is to all. 

Behold I bring you good tidings (the Gospel) of 
great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke ii: 10. 

It is a glad announcement to all souls, because it 
teaches all that sin, error, suffering, and evil shall be 
destroyed. No other Christian doctrine so deserves 
the name Gospel, and this blessed assurance is fully 
entitled to it. 

THE FIB ST CHRISTMAS ANTHEM. 

This was the burthen of the first Christmas song, 
on the plains of Bethlehem, on the birth-night of 
the Savior. The messenger from the skies said to 
the shepherds : 

Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto 
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, 
which is Christ the Lord. Luke ii: 10, 11. 

And the heavenly choir repeated the declaration 
in angelic chorus : 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good will toward men. Luke ii : 14. 

The glad tidings of joy are ultimately to reach 
all people, Christ's people, sinners. To say that 
one soul will be omitted from the saving influence 
of his grace and truth, is to charge the angels with 



36 JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

falsehood, for then the glad tidings would not be 
to all people. The aged Simeon caught a glimpse of 
the truth when, taking the infant Jesus in his arms, 
he said: 

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have 
seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before 
the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Luke ii: 
29 — 32. 

JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

John the Baptist differed very much from modern 
Baptists in the style and substance of his preaching. 
In announcing the coming of one, after him, whose 
shoe latchet he was not worthy to loosen, the fore- 
runner and herald of the Savior cried: 

As it is written in the book of the words of 
Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, 
make his paths straight. Every valley shall be 
filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought 
low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and 
the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh 
shall see the salvation of God. Luke Hi ; 4 — 6. 

He thus affirms that the moral universe shall have 
no valleys, no hills, nothing crooked or perverse, 
but that universal salvation shall result from the 
laws of Christ. " All flesh shall see the salvation 
of God." He uttered the same great truth, when, 
seeing Jesus approach, he said: 

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the 
sin of the world. John i: 29. 

Not the sin of a few, or even of many, not of a 
part only, but of the whole world! 

AN' INCIDENT AND ITS LESSON. 

In, the very beginning of our Savior's ministry he 
came to "Nazareth where he had been brought up," 



JOHN THE BAPTIST. 37 

and the account says {Luke iv: 16 — 20.) he read to 
the people in a Jewish synagogue. He read these 
words : 

The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath 
anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he 
hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight 
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Isa. 
Ixi: 1. 

Here he stopped short, in the middle of a sentence, 
refusing to read the remainder of the prophet's 
language, and " closed the book, and gave it to the 
minister, and sat down." What was the sentence 
he refused to read ? This : 

And the day of vengeance of our God. Isa. Ixi; 2. 

Why did he end thus abruptly, and decline to 
read what the prophet had spoken of him ? Because 
he came to represent God as a Father and Savior, 
and would not utter of himself one word that would 
seem to contradict that great fact. Now it is ad- 
mitted by all commentators that the Old Testament 
is silent concerning the subject of endless hell, but 
say some, the New Testament teaches that awful 
doctrine, and Jesus come to reveal to men endless 
torment in the immortal world. And yet when 
Jesus stood for almost the first time in the presence 
of his people, and read the prophetic declaration 
concerning himself, he refused to admit that he 
came to announce a day of vengeance, but rolled up 
the parchment in the middle of a verse. He would 
not read language that might seem to teach that he 
came to represent God as other than the Father and 
Savior of all. 



38 BE LIKE GOD. 

BE LIKE GOD. 
What is the spirit of that grandest discourse ever 
yet heard or uttered, the Sermon on the Mount? 
Be like God. He is kind to the wicked, good to the 
bad. Be like him. 

Love your enemies, do good to them which hate 
you; bless them that curse you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you. But love ye your ene- 
mies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing 
again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall 
be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto 
the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore 
merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Lukevi: 27, 
28; 35, 36. Love your enemies, bless them that 
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
for them which despitefully use you, and persecute 
you, that ye may be the children of j T our Father 
who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just, 
and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love 
you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publi- 
cans the same? And if ye salute your brethren 
only, what do ye more than others ? do not even the 
publicans so ? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect Matt, v: 44 
—48. 

Could this language be employed concerning God, 
if he consigned the sinner to an endless hell? And 
if he did torment his enemies forever, should we be 
like him, if we loved our enemies? The fact that 
we are like God only when we are kind to those 
who injure us, demonstrates that God is the same, 
and as he is "without variableness, or even the 
shadow of turning," James i: 17, the same yester- 
day to-day and forever, Heb. xiii / 8, it follows that he 
will always manifest himself with impartial kind- 
ness towards all. The spirit of this language is in 
eternal hostility to the idea of endless torment, 



BE LIKE GOD. 39 

and inculcates the restitution of all souls to Him 
whose property they are,. We must treat each 
other as God treats us, in order to be merciful as 
God is merciful. If God is no tf merciful to all who 
offend him, where is our obligation? and if we 
must not be unmerciful because he is not, how can 
he eternally punish? God forbids us to overcome 
evil with evil, and demands of us that we overcome 
evil with good. 

Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil 
with good. Bom. xii: 21. 

And yet it is said that he employs his infinite 
power in overcoming evil by evil to all eternity! 
* fc Recompense no man evil for evil," Bom. xii: 17, is 
the Divine injunction, and yet God employs eter- 
nity in disobeying his own commands! We are 
told to bless our foes: 

If thine enemy hunger feed him ; if he thirst give 
him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of 
fire on his head, Bom. xii: 20. 

And yet we are taught that damned souls shall 
cry for water in vain — a drop of water — to all 
eternity. Thus God is represented as not doing 
what he commands us to do, and doing what he 
commands us not to do, and that to all eternity! 
Let it be shown that God is unforgiving, cruel, 
unmerciful, will torment his enemies forever, and 
men will resemble him most when they are most 
fiendish. If God were to torment one soul forever, 
a Sioux Indian would be his best representative 
among men. But as we are most like him when 
kindest and tenderest, it follows that his mercy and 
love towards every child of his will be without 
limit or bound. 

As this Divine discourse proceeds, it culminates in 



40 THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

THE LOBD'S PBAYEB. 

And this may be called the Universalist Profes- 
sion of Faith. All men are required to recognize 
and address God daily as their Heavenl3 r Father ; one 
who is always kind and merciful toward all his 
children. They are commanded in that prayer to 
pray for his kingdom to come, his kingdom of holi- 
ness and purity, and for his will to be done. We 
will show hereafter that his will is that all souls 
shall be saved, (See / Tim. ii: 1 — 6; Eph. i: 9 — 14; 
John vi : 38 — 40). It is declared that all true Chris- 
tian prayer must be in faith, nothing doubting, (I 
TimAi: 8,) for whatever is not of faith is sin, 
(Bom. xiv : 23). Now, how can any one address 
God as a Father, and pray that his will may be 
done, and understand that will to include the final 
welfare of all souls, and offer that prayer in faith, 
and not be a Universalist? The doxology of the 
prayer is in the same vein. He who offers it un- 
derstandingly, and who prays in faith, can say 
triumphantly, " Thine is the kingdom and the 
power and the glory," and his "Amen," signifying, 
So may it be, and So shall it be, is an aspiration and 
a psalm, a petition and an exultation. He sees the 
Father's will universally triumphant, or his Amen is 
but an ignorantly pronounced expletive offending 
heaven with idle rhetoric. Unless he utters it as a 
triumphant ejaculation that the desire "Deliver us 
from evil" will at length be answered in universal 
redemption, his Amen has no meaning. But let us 
dwell a little on the one great fact in this prayer 
that demonstrates universal salvation: 

THE UNIVERSAL FATHEBHOOD. 

The prophet Malachi (ii : 10) asks : " Have we not 



THE UNIVERSAL FATHERHOOD. 41 

all one Father?" If he employed this language in 
a restricted sense, confining it to the Jews, Chris- 
tianity enlarges it. In the Lord's Prayer, above, all 
are under perpetual obligations to cal] God by the 
dear name that describes as no other word can, his 
kindly purpose towards all men, his children. Jesus 
declares : " One is your Father." Matt, xxiii : 9. 
Paul affirms; "There is one God and Father of all. 
Eph. iv : 6, and he adds that his punishments are all 
administered to correct and reform those who, by 
sinning, deserve them. 

We have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected 
us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much 
rather be in subjection un^o the Father of Spirits 
and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened 
us, after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, 
that we might be partakers of his holiness. Heb. 
xii: 9, 10. 

He illustrates his paternal love not only in send- 
ing the sunshine and the rain on the evil and the 
good, who are alike his children, but he punishes 
because he loves and for the purpose of redemption. 
Sin does not destroy this relation. It continues 
when man forgets or disregards it. 

A certain man had two sons; and the younger of 
them said to his father, father, give me the portion 
of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto 
them his living. And not many days after the 
younger son gathered all together, and took his 
journey into a far country, and there wasted his 
substance with riotous living. And when he had 
spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land; 
and he began to be in want. And he went and 
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he 
sent him into his field to feed swine. And he would 
fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine 
did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he 
came to himself, he said, How many hired servants 
of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and 



42 THE UNIVERSAL FATHERHOOD. 

I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my 
father, and say nnto him, Father, I have sinned 
against heaven, and before thee, and am no more 
worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy 
hired servants. And lie arose and came to his father. 
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw 
him, and had compassion, and ran and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, 
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the 
best robe, and put it on him: and put a ring on his 
hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the 
fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 
for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was 
lost and is found. Lukexv; 11 — 24. 

God continues to be the father of the lost, remain- 
ing always the same to sinners. 

A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping 
and supplications of the children of Israel, for they 
have perverted their waj% and they have forgotten 
their God. Return ye back-sliding children, and I 
will heal your backslidings. Jer. Hi: 21,22. 

We are to judge God's feelings towards his chil- 
dren by our own feelings towards our offspring. 

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask 
bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask for a 
fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father which is in 
heaven give good things to them that ask him? 
Matt, vii: 9 — 11. 

Make the heart of the best earthly parent the 
unit to be multiplied as far as the mind can go, and 
the quotient — differing in degree, but the same in 
kind, indicates Our Father. The earthly parent loill 
do all he can for his children, but God not only will 
do so much, but he can do all he will. Let any 
earthly parent look into his own heart, and in the 



THE UNIVERSAL FATHERHOOD. 43 

drop of love there he will see reflected the great 
heart of God, planning, devising, executing, in 
time and in eternity, the best possible for every 
child. The fact of God's paternity, infinitely wise 
and powerful, is a guaranty of universal salvation. 
God created, governs, punishes, does all things as a 
Father. He will not permit final wo to befall any 
one of his vast family. He will accomplish the ulti- 
mate welfare of each and all; this we know, as truly 
as we know that he is " Our Father." 

How the Scriptures dwell on this great fact : 

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do 
good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you, and persecute you: that 
ye may be the children of your father which is in 
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil 
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
on the unjust. Matt, v: 44, 45. 

That is, being the children of God, we ought to 
imitate him in character. God's paternal love 
resembles that of the good earthly parent for his 
children, only it is infinitely greater, and far more 
enduring. 

Or what man is there of you. whom, if his son 
ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, 
will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father which is in 
heaven give good things to them that ask him? 
Matt, mi: 9 — 11. But Zion said, the Lord hath 
forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can 
a woman forget her sucking child, that she should 
not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, 
they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Isa. 
xlix : 14, 15. 

A parent would not cast off his child forever. 
Will Gcd, whose love is infinite? The wicked are 



44 THE UNIVERSAL FATHERHOOD. 

still God's children, and are punished that they may 
be made better. 

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which 
speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, des- 
pise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint 
when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord 
loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son 
whom lie receive th. If ye endure chastening, God 
dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he 
whom the father chasteneth not ? But if ye be 
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then 
are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore, we 
have had fathers of our flesh that corrected us and 
we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather 
be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 
For they verily for a few days chastened us after 
their own pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we 
might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chas- 
tening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous, nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the 
peaceful fruit of righteousness unto them that are 
exercised thereby. Heb. xii: 5 — 11. 

We act like illegitimate children until punish- 
ment reforms us, but we are not such, for what 
would God be, if we were really illegitimate ? 

God is father in three senses: 

1. By creation in his image. Thou hast made 
him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned 
him with honor and glory. Gen. L Ps. viii. 

2. By faith in Christ and love of God. For ye 
have not received the spirit of bondage again to 
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption 
whereby we cry Abba, Father. Bom. viii: 15. 

3. By being raised in his perfect likeness at the 
final resurrection, as all souls will be. And Jesus 
answered and said unto them, the children of this 
world marry, and are given in marriage; but they 
which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that 
world, and the resurrection of the dead, neither 
marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they 



THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 45 

die any more, for they are equal unto the angels, 
and are the children of God, being the children of 
the resurrection. Luke xx: 34 — 36. 

If the sinner forget his relation as a child of God, 
the Father remembers it, and though man cannot 
say, "Abba, Father. God says," My son give me 
thine heart. Prov. xxiii: 26. 

THE GOOD SAMABITAN. 

What else than this is taught in that immortal 
parable, the Good Samaritan? 

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to 
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him 
of his raiment and wounded him, and departed, 
leaving him half dead. And b)' chance there came 
down a certain priest that way; and when he saw 
him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise 
a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked 
on him, and passed by on the other side. But a 
certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he 
was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on 
him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, 
pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own 
beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of 
him. And on the morrow when he departed, he 
took out two pence and gave them to the host, 
and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever 
thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay 
thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was 
neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? 
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then 
said Jesus unto him, go and do thou likewise. Luke 
s:30 — 37. 

Here a man is given as an example to all time, of 
a divine and god-like spirit, because he was merciful 
and compassionate to an enemy, ministered to his 
necessities, and relieved his wants. Would the God 
who gave to man this sublime ideal, violate it in 
his treatment of his enemies? Is not the parable 
of the Good Samaritan a demonstration that the 

4 



46 THE GOSPEL LEAVEN. 

Father of men will employ all his infinite attributes 
in the most blessed work that men or angels, or the 
great. God himself, can ever perform — the hallowed 
work of restoring and saving? Is not this story a 
guaranty of universal redemption? 

THE GOSPEL LEAVEN. 

The power of leaven is irresistible. However 
small the quantity placed in meal it overcomes by 
its fermentation, all opposition, and assimilates the 
entire mass to its own likeness. Jesus makes this 
beautiful figure illustrative of the irresistible influ- 
ence of his Gospel in the human heart, in the moral 
world. 

Another parable spake he unto them: The king- 
dom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman 
c v.k and hid in three measures of meal, till the 
whole was leavened. Matt, xiii : 33. And again he 
said, whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 
It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in 
three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 
Luke xiii: 20, 21. 

The Gospel leaven must prevail universally; it 
will ferment until " the whole is leavened." 
THE JEWISH LEAVEN. 

The Sadducees taught that there is no resurrec- 
tion, and the Pharisees taught endless torment after 
•death, for a portion of mankind. Jesus' warned his 
disciples, alike, against the doctrines of each party. 

Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Phari- 
sees and of the Sadducees. The disciples did not 
understand his meaning. And they reasoned among 
themselves, saying, it is because we have taken no 
bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto 
them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among 
yourselves, because ye have brought no bread! 
How is it that ye do not understand that 1 spake it 
not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware 



THE LOST ARE TO BE SAVED. 47 

of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Saddueees? 
Then understood they how that he bade them not 
beware of the Jeaven of bread, but of the doctrine 
of the Pharisees and of the Saddueees. Matt, xvi : 
6 — 12. 

The Saddueees taught no resurrection, the Phari- 
sees believed in the future happiness of a portion 
of mankind. Jesus told his disciples to beware of 
both. Only one other view is possible, the final 
happiness of all. 
ALL THE LOST ABE TO BE SAVED. 

All Christians admit that men are in a lost con- 
dition. While there is no such language as ,4 finally 
impenitent," or ""finally lost" in the Bible, the 
Gospel everywhere assumes that souls are lost. For 
the purpose of seeking and saving such, all such, 
Jesus came to this world. 

The Son of Man is come to save that which was 
lost. Luke xix: 10. 

Not a part, but all the lost. Will he succeed? 
This question he answers, and in the three parables, 
the Lost Silver, the Lost Sheep, and the Lost Prod- 
igal, he teaches that all the lost are to be restored. 

What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he 
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine 
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, 
until he find it. Either what woman having ten 
pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light 
a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently 
till she find it. A certain man had two sons: And 
the younger of them said to his father, father give 
me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And 
he divided unto them his living. And not many 
days after the younger son gathered all together, 
and tooK his journey into a far country, and there 
wasted his substance with riotous living. And when 
he came to himself, he said, how many hired ser- 
vants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, 



48 THE LOST ARE TO BE SAVED. 

and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to 
my father, and will say unto him, father I have sinned 
against heaven, and before thee, and am no more 
worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy 
hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. 
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw 
him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, 
father I have sinned against heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 
But. the father said to his servants, bring forth the 
best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his 
hand, and shoes on his feet, — for this, my son, was 
dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. 
Luke xv : 11 — 22. 

Now, had these parables been related to teach the 
common doctrines of the sacrificial church, they, 
would have represented the shepherd as having 
found say twenty sheep, while eight were irreclaim- 
able; the woman would have lost, say six pieces of 
silver, and found but two, while four were utterly 
gone, and the father would have had, say four diso- 
bedient children, only one of whom returned, while 
three wandered in the great desert of sin irredeem- 
able forever. But this is not the teaching of these 
simple yet divine stories. Their significance is not 
in the loss of sheep, or silver, or prodigal, nor in the 
value placed on them by their owners, nor in their 
diligence in searching. There are beautiful lessons 
in all this, but the emphasis is placed where the 
Christian world does not place it, not on the loss, or 
the finding of a part, but on the fact that the search 
was continued until all the lost were found. The 
word that Christians overlook, is the word until. 
" Until he find it? " Until she find it? the search con- 
tinues for sheep and silver, and the father of the 
prodigal waits until he can see his son return, until 



THE LOST ARE TO BE SAVED; 49 

he can say " My lost son is found." These parables 
teach beyond all controversy that however many 
are lost, they are all found, that when the search is 
finished there are,no lost. Hence the divine author 
of the parables says : 

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; 
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast 
out. For I came clown from heaven, not to do mine 
own will, but the will of him that sent me. And 
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of 
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, 
but should raise it up again at the last day. John 
vi: 37—39. 

Christianity tolerates no final loss. All the lost 
are to be found by the Heavenly Seeker. When the 
divine task is consummated the entire race will be 
brought home — "no wanderer lost, a family in 
heaven!" The language of our Savior can have no 
significance, if he does not accomplish the redemp- 
tion of all souls. 

I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and 
am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, 
even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life 
for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are 
not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they 
shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and 
one shepherd, John x: 14 — 16. 

Christians of all creeds rise to the sublime height 
of the salvation of all, in their best moments, as 
witness the universal singing of the "Ninety and 
Nine," a song that breathes the spirit, while it ex- 
presses the literal language of our faith, and yet is 
sung by Christians of every sect, everywhere. 

There were ninety and nine that safely lay 

In the shelter of the fold, 
But one was out on the hills away, 

Far off from the gates of gold. 



60 CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 

Away on the mountain wild and bare, 
Away from the tender Shepherd's care. 

" Lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine: 

Are they not enough for thee ?". 
But the Shepherd made answer, " This one of mine 

Has wandered away from me; 
And although the way be rough and steep, 
I go to the uesert to find my sheep." 

But none of the ransomed ever knew 

How deep were the waters crossed, 
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through 

Ere he found his sheep that was lost. 
Out in the desert he heard its cry — 
Sick and helpless and ready to die. 

" Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way 

That mark the mountain's track ?" 
" They were shed for one who had gone astray 

Ere the Shepherd could bring him back I" 
"Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn?" 
•' They are pierced to-night by many a thorn." 

All thro' the mountains thunder-riven, 

And up from the rocky steep, 
There arose a cry to the gates uf heaven, 

" Kejoice! 1 have found my sheep!" 
And the angels echoed around the throne, 

" Kejoice, for the Lord brings back his own!" 

CHBIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS 
MISSION. 

1. The object of Christ's ministry was to redeemuni- 
versal humanity. 

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save 
that which was lost. Luke xix: 10. Jesus saith 
unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that 
sent me, and to finish his work. John iv: 34. For 
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the 
world: but that the world through him might be 
saved. John Hi: 17. And we have seen and do tes- 
tify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior 
of the world, I John iv: 14. 



CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 51 

2. He labors in this and in the future world to effect 
his purpose. 

For Christ also hatti once suffered for sins, the just 
for the unjnst, that he might bring us to God, being 
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto 
the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobe- 
dient, when once the longsuffering of God waited 
in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, 
wherein tew, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. 
I Pet. in; 18 — 20. Who shall give account to him 
that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For, 
for this cause was the gospel preached also to them 
that are dead, that they might be judged according 
to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the 
spirit. I Pet. iv : 5, 6. 

3. He has ample povier to do all he attempts. 

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matt, 
xxviii: 18. As thou hast given him power over all 
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as 
thou hast given him. John xvii: 2. For to this end 
Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he 
might be Lord both of the dead and living. Bom. 
xiv : 9. For our conversation is in heaven ; from 
whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ; who will change our vile body, that it may 
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according 
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue 
all things unto himself. Phil. Hi: 20, 21. The 
Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things 
into his hand. John iii : 35. 

4. He will be successful. 

The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 
He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be 
satisfied.. Isa. liii : 10. This is indeed the Christ, 
the Savior of the world. John iv : 42. 

Jesus himself said: It is finished. John xix: 30. 

He undertakes to save all men, he labors here and 
hereafter to accomplish his purpose, he has power 
to achieve it, and is actually and absolutely " the 



52 CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 

Savior of the world," which he could not be if 
one soul were lost. 
Hence : 

1. All souls were created for Christ. 

2. Having become unreconciled, he died to bring 
them into harmony with God. 

3. He had so succeeded in establishing the requi- 
site means that he was able to see the result accom- 
plished. 

4. It is a universal reconciliation, " all things are 
reconciled/' 

For the love of Christ constraineth us: because 
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all 
dead: and that he died for all, that they which live 
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but 
unto him which died for them, and rose again. 
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the 
flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the 
flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 
Therefore if any man be' in Christ, he is anew crea- 
ture; old things are passed away; behold, all things 
are become new. And all things are of God, who 
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and 
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 
to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world 
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them; and hath committed unto us the word of 
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for 
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we 
pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no 
sin: that we might be made the righteousness of 
God in him. II Cor. v: 14 — 21. Who hath deliv- 
ered us from the power of darkness, and hath 
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in 
whom we have redemption through his blood, even 
the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the 
invisible God, the first born of every creature: for 
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, 
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 



CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 53 

they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, 
or powers: all things were created by him, and for 
him: and he is before all things, and by him all 
things consist, and he is the head of the body, the 
church: who is the beginning, the first-born from 
the dead: that in all things he might have the 
pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in 
him should all fullness dwell: and, having made 
peace through the blood of his cross, by him to rec- 
oncile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether 
they be things inearth, or things in heaven. And you, 
that were some time alienated and enemies in your 
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. 
Col. i: 13— 21. 

Therefore, 

5. He will draw all men unto him, and they will obey 
the call, and submit to him in willing and righteous 
obedience. 

He tasted death for every man, Heb. ii: 9, that 
each might become his disciple, and possess eternal 
life, and this he declares all men will have, as surely 
as he is lifted up, that is, crucified. Now is the judg- 
ment of this world; now shall the prince of this 
world be cast out. And J, if 1 be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signi- 
fying what death he should die. John xii: 31, S3. 
No man can come to me, except the Father which 
hathsentme draw him: and 1 will raise him up at 
the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they 
shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that 
hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh 
unto me. John vi: 44, 45. As thou hast given him 
power overall flesh, that he should give eternal life to 
as many as thou hast given him. John xvii: 2. All 
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no 
man knoweth the Son, but the Father : neither know- 
eth any man th e Father, save the Son, and he to 
whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Matt, xi: 27. 
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and 
him that cometh to me 1 will in no wise cast out. 
For 1 came down from heaven, not to do mine own 
will but the will of him that sent me. And this is 



64 CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 

the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which 
he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should 
raise it up again at the last day. And this is the 
will of him that sent me, that every one which 
seeth the Son, and believe th on him, may have ever- 
lasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 
John vi : 37 — 40. All the ends of the world shall 
remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the 
kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 
For the kingdom is the Lord's : and he is the governor 
among the nations. Ps. xxii: 27, 28. \V he re fore 
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a 
name which is above every name. That at the name 
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven 
and things in earth, and things under the earth; 
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
Phil, ii : 9 — 11. 

The phrase "under the earth," Kataxthonion^ 
means infernal, and the whole description, says 
Bretschneider, is equivalent to all mankind. Pro- 
fessor Stuart says: 

Things in heaven, earth and under the earth is a 
common periphrasis of the Hebrew and New Testa- 
ment writers for the universe. 

Albert Barnes says : 

The whole universe shall confess that he is Lord. 
This is a willing confession, to God's glory, and 
must therefore be of sincere worship. 

Whoso oflfereth praise glorifieth me." Ps. I: 23. 

This must be universal worship, as it is all to the 
glory of God the Father. There are no unwilling 
worshippers. Hence the apostle teaches that the 
result of Christ's mission is to render all souls 
righteous: 

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon 
all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law 
sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when 



CHRIST WILL ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION. 55 

there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from 
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned 
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is 
the figure of him that was to come. But not as the 
offense, so also is the free gift: for if through the 
offense of one many be dead, much more the grace 
of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, 
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not 
as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the 
judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free 
gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if 
by one man's offense death reigned by one: much 
more they which receive abundance of grace and of 
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, 
Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as by the offense of one 
judgment came upon all trfen to condemnation: 
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift 
came upon all men unto justification of life. For 
as by one man's disobedience many were made 
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be 
made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that 
the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, 
grace did much more abound: that as sin hath 
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign 
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Bom. v : 12 — 21. 

All have sinned, and become subject to death, and 
the same all are to be made spiritually alive. The 
same "many" who were disobedient sinners are to 
be made righteous. 

Says Dr. Macknight (Scotch Presbyterian) : 

For as hoipolloi, the many, in the first part of the 
verse, does not mean some of mankind only, but all 
mankind, from first to last, who without exception 
are constituted through the disobedience of Adam 
sinners; so the many in the latter part of the verse, 
who are said to be constituted righteous through 
the obedience ,of Christ, must mean all mankind, 
from the beginning to the end of the world, with- 
out exception. 

Thus these many, i e, all mankind, are to become 



56 THE RESURRECTION. 

actively righteous. Says Professor Stuart. 

Dikaioi, moreover, must have an active sense here, 
in order to make out the antithesis to hamartoloi, 
which clearly hears only an active sense, if the usus 
loquendi may decide this point; at least it does so 
wherever else it is employed. 

The "many" who died in sin, died as Adam died 
and are to be made alive with spiritual life, as 
Christ was alive — that is. all men are to resemble 
Christ as they have resembled Adam. This the 
Apostle illustrates by the figure of a pair of scales: 

As in Adam all ^\r^y^ qo In Christ shall all 
die, CVCJII ovJ be made alive, 

— / Cur, xv : 22. 

THE BESUBBECTION. 

Nothing can be plainer or more positive than the 
Bible presentation of the- Final Resurrection. It 
demonstrates the deliverance of universal humanity 
from sin and suffering. It describes a state in which 
evil has vanished from the moral universe. The 
resurrection is employed as a figure, sometimes, 
that is, as a national, or local, or moral awakening, 
and sin is said to follow it, but in all such instances 
the circumstances limit it, and show that it is not 
the final resurrection. Such a usage is the follow- 
ing: 

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried 
me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down 
in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 
and caused me to pass by them round about ; and 
behold, there were very many in the open valley; 
and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, 
Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, 
O, Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto 
me, prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O 
ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus 
saith the Lord God unto these bones, behold, I will 
cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 



THE RESURRECTION. 57 

and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up 
"flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put 
breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know 
that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was com- 
manded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and 
behold a shaking, and the bones came together, 
bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sin- 
ews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin 
covered them above, but there was no breath in 
them. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the 
wind, prophesy, Son of man, and say to the 
wind, thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four 
winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that 
they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded 
me, and ttie breath came into them, and they lived, 
and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great 
army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these 
bones are the whole house of Israel; behold they 
say our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we 
* are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy, and 
say unto them, thus saith the Lord God; behold, 
oh my people, I will open your graves, and cause 
you to come up out of your graves, and bring 
you into the land of lsrae±. And ye shall know that 
I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith 
the Lord. JEzek. xxxvii. 

Had not the explanation in verse eleven been 
given, it might have been thought that this is a 
description of the literal resurrection, but it is seen 
to be a poetical statement of deliverance from the 
Babylonish captivity. A similar use of language is 
found in the following passages: 

I know thy works, that thou hast a name that 
thou livest, and art dead. Bev. Hi: 1. And you 
hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and 
sins. Eph. ii: 1. For this my son was dead and is 
alive again; he was lost and is found. Luke xv : 24. 
That 1 may know him, and the power of his resur- 
rection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being 
made conformable unto his death; if by any means 
Lmight attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 



58 THE RESURRECTION. 

Xot as though I had already attained, either were 
already perfect: but 1 follow after, if that I may 
apprehend that for which also 1 am apprehended of 
Christ Jesus. Pkil, Hi: 10 — 12. 

This is a resurrection attainable in this life. 

Not as though I had already attained, but if I 
might. by any means attain unto the resurrection of 
the dead. 

But the following is the most striking instance: 

Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in 
which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
and shall come forth: they that have done good, 
unto the resurrection of life; and they that have 
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 
v : 28, 29. 

That this is not the general resurrection is evi- 
dent. 

1. Because it took place then, and is not now 
future, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the 
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and 
they that hear shall live." 

2. Because in this account all are not said to be 
raised, but only those who had " done good or evil." 
This excludes half the human race, which, dying in 
infancy, never has done good or evil. 

3. Or if it be claimed that all are raised, then 
only the good and evil are assigned and the rest are 
left unprovided tor. 

4 Because this resurrection follows the judgment, 
whereas, in the popular view, the final resurrection 
precedes the judgment. 

5. Because in the final resurrection no judgment 
follows. See / Cor. xv. 

6. Because the dead are not raised from hades, 
but from the kC the graves," as in Ezek, xxxvii. 

7. This is a moral awakening, of those dead in 
trespasses and sins, and therefore can only include 



THE RESURRECTION. 59 

those who have done good or evil, and not all men. 
It is parallel with Dan. xii : 2, and Matt.xxiv. Daniel 
says : 

Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to 
shame and everlasting contempt. 

That Daniel's is a local and figurative use of the 
word is evident: 

1 Because it is not all men but "many" who are 
raised, and 

2. Because this was to be at the second appear- 
ing of Christ during the lifetime of those who 
heard Christ speak. Daniel says: 

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the 
great prince which standeth for the children of thy 
people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as 
never was since there was a nation, even to that 
same time, xii: 1. 

Jesus says : 

There shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, 
nor ever shall be. Matt, xxiv : 21. 

That the prophet and the Savior refer to the same 
event is evident: 

When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of 
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in 
the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,) 
then let them which be in Judea flee into the 
mountains? Let him which is on the house-top 
not come down to take anything out of his house. 
This generation shall not pass till all these things 
be fulfilled. Matt, xxiv ; 15, 17, 21. 

All these descriptions refer to the moral awaken- 
ing, or anastasis that Jesus caused. But the final 
resurrection is a different event. It is described 
by Jesus and Paul. 

The same day came to him the Sadducees, which 
say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 



60 THE RESURRECTION. 

saying, Master, Moses said, that if a man die, hav- 
ing no children his brother shall marry his wife, 
and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were 
with us seven brethren; and the first, when he had 
married a wife, deceased, and having no issue, left 
his wife unto his brother; likewise the second also, 
and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the 
woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, 
whose wife shall she be of the seven ? For they all 
had her. Jesus answered and said unto them: Ye 
do err, not knowing the Scriptures,*nor the power 
of God. For in the resurrection they neither 
marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the 
angels of God in heaven. But as touching the res- 
urrection of the dead, have ye not read that which 
was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God 
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the 
living. Matt, xxii: 21 — 32. And Jesus answering 
said unto them, the children of this world marry, 
and are given in marriage; but they which shall be 
accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the 
resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are 
given in marriage; neither can they die any more; 
for they are equal unto the angels; and are the 
children of God, being the children of the resur- 
rection. Xow that the dead are raised, even Moses 
shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the 
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but 
of the living; for all live unto him. Luke xx: 34 
— 38. See also, Mark xii : 18 — 27. 

1. All are raised according to this statement, 
"the dead are raised." 

2. All the dead are immortal. " Neither can they 
die any more.'* 

3. They are " angels." 

4. They are like God in character. 

5. All must be holy and happy forever, as all arc 
immortal, godlike, angels. 

The objection sometimes offered to this view is in 



THE RESURRECTION. 61 

the phrase Luke uses, but that the other evangelists 
do not. " They which shall be accounted worthy to 
obtain that world." But this phrase is a reply to 
the Pharisees who denied that some would be deem- 
ed worthy to rise. Jesus having said that all will 
rise, says they " having been accounted worthy," 
(kataxiothentes) are immortal and holy. The lexi- 
cographers define this word thus : Donnegan, " To 
deem worthy, to honor, to esteem, to desire, to sue 
for." Greenfield, " to account worthy, to esteem 
fit." Dr. George Campbell thus translates it: 

But among them who shall be honored to share in 
the resurrection and the other world. 

The "Emphatic Diaglott " defines the phrase " hav- 
ing been accounted worthy." The language is this: 

The children of this world marry and are given 
in marriage but they having been accounted worthy 
to obtain that world, that is, the resurrection of 
the dead, are the children of God, being the chil- 
dren of the resurrection. 

That he taught this doctrine is evident from 
verse 33. "And when the multitude heard this, 
they were astonished at his doctrine." What aston- 
ished them ? In his audience were 

1. Pharisees who believed in partial salvation. 
Had he taught that he would not have astonished 
them. 

2. Sadducees, who denied the resurrection. Had 
he taught that, he would not have astonished them* 

3. Heathen, who entertained views similar to 
those of the partialists of the present day. Had 
he taught endless punishment for a portion of man- 
kind, he would not have astonished them. 

The only doctrine that could have astonished all 
these classes, was the resurrection of all souls to 

5 



62 THE RESURRECTION. 

holiness and happiness. He taught something new 
and different to what all these classes received. 
Universal salvation is the only possible view dif- 
ferent from the doctrines of all these. Hence 
Jesus warned his hearers against the old ideas. 

Then Jesus said unto them, take heed, and beware 
of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 
Then understood they how that he bade them not 
beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine 
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. MaU.xoi: 
6,12. 

He rejected the idea of all and taught that the 
resurrection condition is one of universal holiness. 

Paul's view accords perfectly with the doctrine of 

the Savior: 

But now is Christ risen from the dead and be- 
come the first fruit of them that slept. For since 
by man came death, by man came also the resurrec- 
tion of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so 
in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man 
in his own order; Christ the first fruits, afterward 
they that are Christ's at his coming. Then, cometh 
the end, when he shall have delivered up the King- 
dom to God, even the Father; when he shall have 
put down all rule, and all authority and power. For 
he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet. The last enemy (that) shall be destroyed (is) 
death. [The words k% that," and "is" are supplied 
by the translators. What Paul says is, " The last 
enemy, Death, shall be destroyed."] For he hath 
put all things under his feet. But when he saith, 
all things are put under him, it is manifest that he 
is excepted, which did put all things under him. 
And when all things shall be subdued unto him. 
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him 
that put all things under him, that God may be all in 
all. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 
in corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it-is sown 
in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weak- 
ness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body 



THE RESURRECTION. 63 

it is raised a spiritual body. And so it is written, the 
first man Adam was made a living soul ; the last Adam 
was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not 
first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and 
afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is 
of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord 
from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also 
that are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such are 
they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne 
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the im- 
age of the heavenly. Now this 1 say, brethren, 
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of 
God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruplion. 
Behold, I shew you a mystery : We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the 
twinkling of an e} r e, at the last trump; for the 
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible; and we shall be changed. For this 
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality. So when this 
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, death is 
swallowed up in victory. O death where is thy 
sting? O grave where is thy victory? The sting 
of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my 
beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as 
much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in 
the Lord. I Cor. xv: 20— 28; 42 — 58. 

Here we see , 

1. All mankind are included. The same all that 
die as Adam died will be resuscitated. 

2. They are not merely to live, but are to live 
44 in Christ." And as is the first firuit so is the 
harvest. 

3. They are to be new creatures, and wear the 
image of -the heavenly. If any man be in Christ he 
is a new creature. II Cor. v : 17. 



64 THE RESURRECTION. 

4. It is a condition of "glory," "incorruptibility," 
44 immortality." 

5. It is not the resurrection of the body, 4t Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 

6. Death is to be destroyed. 

7. All man's enemies are to be annihilated. 

8. And man is to be victor through Christ over 
all. And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts 
make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of 
wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of 
wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy 
in this mountain the face of the covering cast over 
all people, and the vail that is spread over all na- 
tions. He will swallow up death in victory, and 
the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
faces; anci the rebuke of his people shall be taken 
away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath 
spoken it. Is a. xxv ; 6 — 8. 

9. That the final resurrection is to holiness, is 
evident from Paul's words in Acts xxiv : 15, in which 
he hopes for 4i the resurrection of the dead, both of 
the just and unjust." It is not supposable that 
Paul could hope, that is, desire and expect, the 
resurrection of the unjust, if he believed that they 
would rise to endless torture. The fact that he 
hoped for the resurrection of the unjust proves that 
he regarded it as a blessing to them, even. 

It is said that there is a resurrection to be at- 
tained by human effort. True, Jesus says : 

Then said he also to him that bade him, when 
thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not tin' 
friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor 
thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, 
and a recompense be made thee. But when thou 
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, 
the blind; and thou shalt be blest; for they cannot 
recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at 
the resurrection of the just. Luke xiv : 12. — 14. 



THE NATURE OF PUNISHMENT. 65 

This is the result, not of faith, but of good works, 
and gives a higher measure of glory to those who 
are worthy of it. u In the resurrection one s»tar 
differs from another." Those who deserve it, have 
the larger measure of joy in the resurrection. 

Women received their dead raised to life again: 
and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; 
that they might obtain a better resurrection. Heb. 
zi:Zb. 

There are grades hereafter, all are not alike, 
though all are equal to, or like the angels. 

The anastasis, or resurrection is not merely being, 
it is a rising, a moral and spiritual ascent ultimately 
to be experienced by all mankind, who are to be 
made alive in Christ, and become equal to the an- 
gels. It is " rising to a better life," in the words ot 
Macknight, Scotch Presbyterian. This is the clear 
and unmistakable testimony of Jesus the Savior 
and Paul the Apostle. Well did this sublime con- 
summation compel the apostle to exclaim: 

For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that 
he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the 
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 
past finding out ! For who hatli known the mind 
of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or 
who hath first given to him, and it shall be recom- 
pensed unto him again? For of him, and through 
him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory 
forever. Amen. Bom, xi : 32 — 36. 

And let all the people say Amen. 
THE NAT JIBE OF PUNISHMENT, 

The office of punishment to correct and reform, 
as punishment is explained in the New Testament, 
demonstrates that it is to be followed by reforma- 
tion and restoration. In Matt, xxv : 46, where certain 
wicked are sent away into " everlasting punishment," 



66 THE PRAYER OF JESUS FOR HIS MURDERERS. 

the word "everlasting" denotes — as is its usual 
meaning in the Bible — long but not endless dura- 
tion, and the word punishment is a translation from 
kolasin, which means to prune. These are sent 
away to be pruned, that is improved; this is the 
exact meaning of the language. Paul conveys this 
idea: 

To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction 
of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of 
the Lord Jesus. I Cor. v: 5. We have had fathers 
of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them 
reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection 
unto the Father of Spirits and live? For they 
verily for a few days chastened us after their own 
pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be 
partakers of his holiness Now no chastening for 
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; 
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit 
of righteousness unto them which are exercised 
thereby. Heb.xii:9 — 11. 

We must therefore charge God with being unable 
to accomplish his purpose in the punishment he 
inflicts, or we must admit that his pruning, sooner 
or later, causes those punished to yield to God to the 
peaceable fruit of righteousness," by " partaking 
of his holiness." Hence all God's punishments must 
end in reformation. 

THE PBAYEB OF JESUS FOB HIS 
MUBDEBEBS. 

Long before his death, Jesus commanded his dis- 
ciples to forgive those who injured them. This 
injunction is in the Lord's Prayer, and it is also 
found in the following: 

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft 
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? 
Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, 1 say not 



THE PRAYER OF JESUS FOR HIS MURDERERS. 67 

unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times 
seven. Matt, xviii: 21, 22. 

The reason is, because God places no limit on his 
forgiveness If it could be shown that God ever 
ceases to forgive, then the obligation would not rest 
on man to forgive those who wrong him. But as 
God always forgives, man should do likewise. 
" Seventy times seven," four hundred and ninety 
times, denotes continual forgiveness. How sub- 
limely was this illustrated on the cross: 

Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do. Luke xxiii : 34. 

Did Jesus offer this prayer '* in faith, nothing 
doubting?" If not it was not Christian- prayer. 
Was his prayer answered? If not, then Jesus was 
mistaken, for he said, addressing the wicked Jews: 

Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, 
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 
Matt, xxiii: 37 — 39. 

And certainly Peter looked beyond the guilt of 
the murderers of Jesus to their deliverance from 
sin, when he said: 

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, 
the God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus; 
whom ye delivered up and denied him in the pres- 
ence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him 
go, but ye killed the Prince of Life. . , Ye are 
the children of the prophets, and of the covenant 
which God made with our fathers; saying unto 
Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of 
the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God having 
raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in 
turning away everv one of you from his iniquities. 
Acts Hi: 13 — 15; 25 — 26. 

Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of his murderers. 
He must have prayed in faith, for he condemns all 
other prayer. He believed that even his disciples' 



b« GOD THE CREATOR. 

prayers would be answered, — and of course his own 
— and Peter declares that these wicked men for 
whom Jesus prayed, were to be delivered from their 
iniquities. And if this be true, certainly no human 
sin can fail, sooner or later, to receive the divine 
forgiveness. 

GOD THE CREATOR. 

God that made the world and all things there- 
in, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, 
dvvelleth not in temples made with hands; neither 
is worshipped with hands, as though he needed 
anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, 
and all things; and hath made of one blood all 
nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the 
earth, and hath determined the times before ap- 
pointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that 
they should seek the Lord if haply they might feel 
after him, and tind him, though he be not far from 
every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and 
have our being; as certain also of your own poets 
have said, for we are also his offspring. Acts xvii: 
24 — 28. 

He did not create without a good purpose. 

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and 
honor and power ;*for thou hast created all things, 
and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Rev. 
iv : 11. 

He created for his pleasure, but he can only be 
happy in the happiness of others. He foreknew, 
foresaw the destiny of his children. He was good 
and desired their welfare, wise and planned as lie 
pleased, powerful and will execute his plans. There- 
fore he has not created one soul whose welfare he 
has not fixed. 

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies 
are over all his works. Ps. cxlv : 9. 

He created as an infinitely wise, powerful, and 
good Father. Therefore all his children will reach 



GOD S HOLINESS. &» 

a happy immortality. Let the Christian always 
remember that God is the Creator of souls only as 
he is their Father, and his faith will infallibly per- 
ceive that he is the final Savior ot just as many as 
he is Creator. 

GOD'S HOLINESS. 

Ye shall be holy for I the Lord your God am 
holy. Lev. xix: 2. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Al- 
mighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Bev. 
iv : 8. 

A holy God might allow sin and sorrow as a 
means, but he could not allow it as an end, unless he 
were compelled. Such a Gocl could hot permit, as 
the best thing he could do, what only an infinite 
devil could do at his worst, perpetuate vice, and 
continue wickedness forever. Infiiiite holiness will 
wage a continual warfare with sin until universal 
holiness shall reign. To shut up sin in the prison- 
house of hell, and keep it alive forever, is to violate 
God's love of holiness. How absurd to say that a 
holy God has affixed penalties to his law that will 
insure final unholiness! All men must be holy be- 
cause he is holy. 

GOD'S MEBdY. 

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are 
overall his works. Ps. cxlv : P His mercy endureth 
forever. Ps. cvii: 1. He is as -»erciful when punish- 
ing as when forgiving. Also unto thee, Lord, 
belongeth mercy, for thou render est to every man accord- 
ing to his works. Ps. Ixii : 12. 

Ps. cxxxvi employs the phrase, " mercy endureth 
forever," twenty times. A God all mercy is not a 
G-od unjust, nor is a God all justice a God unmer- 
ciful, inasmuch as God's mercy and justice are as 
the two wings of the Holy Spirit, identical in object 
and purpose. God is merciful and just in punishing 



70 GOD'S JUSTICE. 

and forgiving. When the Divine Love plans it is 
wisdom, when it executes it is power, when it 
punishes it is justice, and when it forgives it is 
mercy. If one sinner escape his full punishment, 
God is unjust. If one is lost he is unmerciful. 

He is a just God and a Savior. Isa. xlv: 21. Thou 
wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest 
vengeance of their inventions. Ps. xcix: 8. 

The meaning of this verse is, he punished first 
and then forgave. This he must do toward each 
soul. But if he torments one soul forever, where is 
his mercy? The worst a depraved devil could do 
would be to torture an enemy forever. Can infinite 
benevolence do no better than the worst malevolence 
would do? His infinite mercy demonstrates the 
final salvation of every child of his. 

GOD'S JUSTICE. 

A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and 
right is he. Deut. xxxii: 4. A just God and a Savior. 
Isa. xlv : 21. Who vrill render to every man according 
to his deeds. Bom. ii: 6. 

God will not judge for unbelief but for "deeds." 
Hence, as each has done good and evil, each is to 
be, at the same time, forever happy and forever 
wretched, or all rewards and punishments must be 
temporal. Justice requires obedience. Justice 
demands that every mortal being should receive the 
full measure of his desert. If all deserve endless 
punishment, all must be forever miserable, or God 
will work eternal injustice on those who escape the 
penalty, and as no soul will ever be able to suffer 
endless torment, so no soul will ever be justly pun- 
ished. If endless torment be the just penalty of 
God's law, justice can never be administered to any 



god's justice. 71 

one soul, inasmuch as no soul can ever experience 
the penalty in its fullness. 

O man, what doth the Lord require of thee but 
to deal justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with thy God? Micahvi: 8. 

Will he require men to do justly, and then compel 
them forever to deal unjustly ? Could he love and 
demand justice, and issue a just law, and then affix 
a penalty that would insure its defeat, and perpet- 
uate injustice? 

God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, tthou 
king of Saints. Bev. xv : 3. Justice and judgment 
are the habitation of thy throne. Ps. Ixxxix: 14. 

The law of God and the object of justice is to 
convert men. 

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. 
Ps.xix : 7. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Bom. xiii: 
10. For verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth 
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from 
the law, till all be fulfilled. Matt.v: 18. Now the end 
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, 
and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. 
I Tim. i; 5. Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind, this is the first and 
great commandment, and the second is like 
unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On 
these two commandments hang all the law and the 
prophets. Matt, xxii: 36 — 40. 

All men are to receive strictly according to their 
works. If it is just to punish sinners forever, then all 
souls must be damned. And as all are to be dealt justly 
by, it follows, if any are to be saved, that endless 
punishment cannot be the just due of any one. As 
all have performed both good and evil deeds, all 
have merited both endless happiness and endless 
torment. Can men then accuse God of so stultify- 
ing himself as to make his law a failure by annexing 



72 god's justice. 

a penalty that shall forever prevent its fulfillment? 
But justice is satisfied here, without an infinite 
penalty. 

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your 
God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry 
unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her 
iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the 
Lord's hand double for all her sins. Isa. xl : 1, 2. 

Here the law was satisfied with a temporal pen- 
alty, therefore it does not require an endless one. 
Hence we are taught that God fully punishes the 
sinner, and then forgives his sins. 

Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though 
thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Ps. 
xcix: 8. 

That is, justly punished and then mercifully for- 
gave. Justice can only be satisfied with universal 
obedience to God's law. Therefore it cannot de- 
mand the infliction of endless torment but must 
forever insist on obedience, and forever labor to 
secure it. 

Justice can only be satisfied when all men do 
justly. It requires all men to love God, and can- 
not therefore be satisfied with anything less than 
universal obedience. Endless punishment would 
defeat the demands of justice, and would be unjust, 
and is therefore impossible. Justice is identical 
with mercy and demands the same. The divine 
law will always be binding on all moral beings, there- 
fore, God's attribute of justice can only result in 
universal holiness, so that the fact that God is just 
is a guaranty that the infamous injustice of endless 
sin and wo can never be perpetrated, but that his 
just and perfect law will be fulfilled in the conversion 
of the souls of all mankind. A just finite being se- 
cures the prevalence of justice so far as he has power. 



god's omniscience. 73 

A just infinite being will not fail to secure universal 
justice, for he possesses not only the disposition, 
but the means requisite to that great end. 
GOD'S OMNISCIENCE, 

O Lord, how manifold are thy works, in wisdom 
hast thou made them all. Ps. civ : 24. Known unto 
God are all his works from the beginning of the 
world. Acts xv: 18. Great is our Lord, and of 
great power; his understanding is infinite. Ps. 
cxlvii: 5. He is perfect in knowledge. Job. xxxvi : 4. 
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from 
ancient times the things that are not yet done, say- 
ing, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
pleasure. Jsa. xlvi: 10. For thou, even thou, only, 
knowest the hearts of all the children of men, I 
Kings viii : 39. Neither is there any creature that 
is not manifest in his sight ; but all things are naked 
and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have 
to do. Heb. iv : 13. The eyes of the Lord are 
in every place, beholding the evil and the good. 
Pro, xv : 3. Thou understandest my thought afar 
off, and art acquainted with all my ways. There is 
not a word in my tongue but lo! OLord, thou know- 
est it altogether. Ps. cxxxix: 2 — 4. 

God foresaw every event and could have prevented 
any. Knowing the final result, with ability to 
prevent he must have intended it. Therefore he 
designed the endless torment of some or the happi- 
ness of all. Everything will be as he wishes. He 
desires universal happiness, and is wise enough co 
accomplish it. Man's freedom of will and all other 
impediments were foreseen and provided for. 

" Did he o'erlook the least of his concerns, 
Since from the least the greatest oft originates, 
Then nnforseen contingence might alarm him, 
And disturb the calm and equal course 
Of his affairs." 

Nothing can surprise him or long prevent the op- 



74 god's omnipotence. 

erations of his perfect wisdom. To say that a father 
foresaw that a child, if created, would suffer forever, 
is to say that he would never create such a child. 
When we say he is an omniscient Father, we dem- 
onstrate his care and love, and final protection and 
grace to all his children. He could not create an 
immortal being of whose salvation he was not ab- 
solutely sure. 

GOD'S OMNIPOTENCE. 
If it were possible for him to be infinitely good, 
as he is, to desire the salvation of all, as he does, 
and infinitely wise to plan what he desires, as he is, 
he might fail for lack of infinite power to execute 
his desires and designs. But he is almighty to 
execute. 

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multi- 
tude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the 
voice of mighty thunderings. saying, Alleluia: for 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Bev. xix: 6,7. 

He will do what he can, being love, and he can do 
what he will, being omnipotent, and being omni- 
scient, he can devise the requisite means to accom- 
plish all he wishes. His love desires, his wisdom 
plans,' and his power accomplishes the salvation of 
all. If he does not desire universal happiness he is 
not infinitely good, if he cannot plan he lacks 
wisdom, and if unable to execute he lacks power. But 
he desires that result, plans to accomplish it, 
and executes all plans. What shall hinder them? 
Nothing. 

He doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven and among the inhabitants of tin 1 earth and 
none can stay his hand or say unto him. What doest 
thou? Dan. iv : 35. There are many devices in a 
man's heart, nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, 



god's love. 75 

that shall stand. Prov.xix: 21. But he is in one 
mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul 
desireth, even that he doeth. Job xxiii : 13. Who 
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. 
Eph. i : 11. 

Praise, everlasting praise be paid 
To him who earth's foundations laid : 
Praise to the God whose strong decrees, 
Sway the creation as he please. 

GOD'S LOVE. 

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of 
God: and everyone that loveth is born of God, and 
knoweth God. And we have known and believed 
the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he 
that dvvelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in 
him. IJohn iv : 7, 16. Love worketh no ill to his 
neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 
Bom. xiii: 10. 

Good will is the divine nature and essence. What- 
ever God does is always directed by what he is. Such 
a God will do the best he can by each of his creatures. 
But endless torment would be the worst he could do. 
Is the best a God of Love can do no better than the 
worst he can do ? Can a God of Love do that which 
does not benefit himself, angels, men nor devils, 
which will defeat his benevolent purpose, render 
heaven an exile to millions, who miss their loved 
ones, and fill hell with agony? No. His "love 
worketh no ill." Therefore he will always be kind 
to the unthankful and evil, will punish to reform 
and bless. 

For I am the Lord, I change not. Mai. in : 6. 
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from 
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, 
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of 
turning. James i: 17. 

Then he will always love his enemies, will always 



76 god's love. 

seek their good, for this he does and always has 
done. 

For when we were yet without strength, in due 
time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for 
a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for 
a good man some would even dare to die. But God 
commendetli his love toward us, in that while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Bom. v:Q — 
8. For God so loved the world that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn 
the world; but that the world through him might 
be saved. John Hi: 16, 17. In this was manifested 
the love of God toward us, because that God sent 
his only begotten Son into the world that we might 
live |through him. Herein is love, not that we loved 
God,' but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
propitiation for our sins. / John iv : 9, 10. 

He loves sinners, and will do the best he can for 
them. God is Love. This is the passion that he 
ever manifests towards his children. It will never 
cease in the bosom of the Father. 

" They sin who tell us love can die; 

With life all other passions fly." 

All others are but vanity. 
■ ' Its holy flame forever burnetii. 

From heaven it came to heaven returneth." 

Hence the Apostle says: 

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, 
he is a liar. I John iv : 20. 

So if a man say God is love, and will hate and 
curse his child, he is a liar. He can only ordain or 
allow, what is for the final good of his children. 
Even his punishments will result in their improve- 
ment. " Our God is a constn ing fire." Heb. xii : 29. 
But the fire is love, and will only consume the enemies 
of his children ; for " Love worketh no ill." Bom. ziii : 



god's attributes unlimited. 77 

10. And Go cl so loved the world that he sent his 
Son to die for it. John Hi: 16. 

We have seen and do testify that the Father sent 
the Son to be the Savior of the World. IJohn iv : 14. 
So that the believing Christian can say: 
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us 
from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord. Bom. viii: 38. 

God created, governs, judges, punishes, and does 
all things as a Father, all-wise, almighty, all-mer- 
ciful. All that the best earthly father would do 
for his children, God can do for his offspring. Good 
will, kindness, the best he can do with infinite 
might and wisdom, God will do for every child — for 
all mankind. The best thing that infinite love, aided 
by omnipotence and omniscience can accomplish 
— the only thing these divine attributes will ac- 
complish, is universal happpiness. 

GOD' S ATTRIBUTES UNLIMITED. 

The Psalmist reprehends a practice prevalent 
both in his day and now of "limiting the Holy One 
of Israel." Ps. Ixxviii : 41, of placing boundaries to 
the abilities of the divine attributes. Infinite, 
they are without limitation, and it is a sort of pro- 
fanity to adopt any conclusions that place bounds to 
them, and yet many Christians represent God as 
like the foolish man: 

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sit- 
teth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether 
he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he 
hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, 
all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, 
this man began to build, and was not able to finish. 
Luke xiv: 28 — 30. 

6 



78 god's power unlimited. 

GOD'S P OWEB UNLIMITED. 
He doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: 
and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what 
doest thou? Dan. iv : 35. For as the rain cometh 
down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth 
not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it 
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the 
sower, and bread to the eater so shall my word be 
that goeth forth out of my month; it shall not re- 
turn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
which I please and it shall prosper in the thing 
whereto 1 sent it. Isa. Iv : 10, 11. Who worketh 
all things after the counsel of his own will. Eph. 
i; 11. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Bev. 
xix: 6. 

Then nothing can hinder his power from executing 
whatever he wishes to accomplish. And yet how 
often it is said that the weakest human being who 
ever lived, is endowed with a will so strong that if 
he please to exercise it, God cannot accomplish a 
plan between which and himself that stubborn will 
shall rise, though it is a plan which he has pledged his 
sacred word, and sent his only son to live and die 
to accomplish! God has commanded all souls to 
obey him; has declared that all shall obey him; but 
we are told that if we help him he will succeed, but 
if we decline to do so, we can defeat him — can 
throw the divine purpose from the track, and though 
God's omnipotence exert itself to the utmost, it 
shall fail utterly of its purpose. Is not this limit- 
ing that attribute of Deity on which the Divine 
character rests ? 

GOD'S WISDOM UNLIMITED. 

His understanding is infinite. Ps.cxhrii:5. De- 
claring the end from the beginning and from ancient 
time the things that are not yet done, saying, my 
counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. 



GOD'S love unlimited. 79 

Isa. xlvi : 10. Known unto God are all his works 
from the beginning of the world. Acts xv : IS. 

To claim that God desires the final welfare ot 
all men, and that his wisdom has devised the best 
plan possible to infinite wisdom, but that man's 
rebellion has not been foreseen, or, if foreseen, not 
amply provided for, presents the same disastrous 
result. What would be said of a mechanic who 
should construct a sewing machine which, on trial, 
would not sew? On examination it is found that a 
little wheel or spring has been inserted that utterly 
prevents the machine from doing what its maker 
declares it was constructed to do! Would not such 
a machinist convict himself of folly? To say that 
God has created men to serve him, and has conferred 
upon them an agency that prevents them from 
serving him — that he has not wisdom enough to 
overcome the agency he has given them, is to limit 
God's wisdom. To say that man's agency is not 
abundantly provided for in the plans of God, and 
that all souls will not be willing to obey him in the 
day of his power, is to limit the Holy One of 
Israel. The divine perfections are equally im- 
peached if we suppose that God will do all he 
wishes, but that he does not desire that all souls 
shall enjoy him; that his wisdom and power will 
accomplish all he pleases, but the final triumph of 
evil in a portion of his universe is a part of the 
divine plan. This is Calvinism. It plumes itself on 
a strong and wise God, but it builds his wisdom and 
power on the ruins of his goodness, just as in other 
systems of error his goodness stands on the ruins of 
his wisdom and power. 

GOD'S LOVE UNLIMITED. 

He desires to save all. 



80 god's will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 
Hi: 16. But God commendeth his love towards us, 
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us. Bom. v: 8. But God, who is rich in mercy, for 
his great love wherewith he loved us, even when 
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
Christ, (by grace ye are saved.) Eph. ii: 4, 5, The 
Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over 
all his works. Ps. cxlv : 9. 

It matters not which view we take. No theory 
of the loss of a single soul can be adopted that does 
not drag to ruin one or more of the attributes of 
God. Does he not desire the welfare of that soul? 
Then he is deficient in goodness. Can he not plan 
its welfare? Then he is not infinitely wise. Can 
he not execute the plan he desires? His power is 
limited. To be infinite in all his attributes he 
must be so good as to desire, so wise as to plan, and 
so powerful as to execute the good of all. The 
God of Calvinism is strong but bad; the God of 
Arminianism is good but weak. The Christian 
God has the faults of neither and the merits of 
both. % 

If, therefore, we say that God will not and cannot, 
or can but will not, or will but cannot, save every 
human soul, we limit him in some direction, but if 
he will and can, then the result contemplated by 
the Universalist faith must be accomplished. 
GOD'S WILL, PLEASUBE, PUBPOSE, 
PBOMISE, AND OATH. 

It is the will of God to save all souls. 

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, 
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be 
made for all men ; for kings and for all that are in au- 
thority ; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life 



GOD'S will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 81 

in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and 
acceptable in the sight of God onr Savior ; who will 
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the 
knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and 
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ 
Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be tes- 
tified in due time. I Tim. ii ; 1 — 6. All that the 
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that 
conieth to me I will in no wise cast out. For I 
came dow r n from heaven, not to do mine own will, 
but the will of him that sent me. And this is the 
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which 
he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should 
raise it up again at the last clay. And this is the 
will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth 
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting 
life; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 
vi : 37 — 40. 

This is not a will of desire merely, but of purpose, 
such being the meaning of the word thelo, as the 
following passages show: 

For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quick- 
eneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he 
will. John v : 21. And Jesus put forth his hand and 
touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And 
immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matt, viii : 3. 
The same day there came certain of the Pharisees 
saying unto him, get thee out, and depart hence; for 
Herod will kill thee. Luke xiii: 31. We will not 
have this man to reign over us. Luke xix: 14. 

A good being, a Father, could have no other will 
than the welfare of his children. His will is finally 
to be accomplished. 

But he is in one mind, and who can turn him ? 
and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. Job 
xxiii : 13. There are many devices in a man's heart; 
nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. 
Prov. xix: 21. He doeth according to his will in the 
army of heaven, and among, the inhabitants of the 
earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him 
what doest thou? Dan. iv ; 35. Thy people shajl 



82 god's will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 

be willing in the day of thy power. Ps. ex: 3. Thy 
will be done. Matt, vi: 10. 

It is God's pleasure that all shall be redeemed from 
sin and error. 

For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleas- 
ure they are and were created. Bev. iv: 11. As I 
live saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked. Ezek. xviii: 23, 32. Having made 
Known unto us the mystery of his will, according to 
his good pleasure which he hath purposed in him- 
self, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times 
he might gather together in one all things in Christ, 
both which are in heaven and which are on earth 
even in him. Eph. i: 9, 10. 

God's pleasure will be performed. 

I will do all my pleasure. Isa. xlvi: 10. So shall 
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it 
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accom- 
plish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the 
thing whereto I sent it. Isa. Iv : 11. The pleasure 
of the Lord shall prosper in his (Christ's) hands. 
Isa. liii : 10. 

It is God's purpose to save all. 

Having made known unto us the mystery of his 
will, according to his good pleasure which he hath 
purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of 
the fullness of times he might gather together in 
one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, 
and which are on earth; even in him: in whom also 
we have obtained an inheritance, being predesti- 
nated according to the purpose of him who worketh 
all things after the counsel of his own will; that we 
should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted 
in Christ: in whom ye also trusted, after that ye 
heard the word of truth, the gospel of j^our salvation : 
in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed 
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the 
earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of 
the purchased possession, unto the praise of his 
glory. Eph. i: 9 — 14. 

The phrase, ki all things." here employed, denotes 



GOD'S will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 83 

" the universe," according to Professor Stuart, and 
Archbishop Newcome says the phrase means 4 * all 
intelligent beings." God, then, purposes to unite 
in one, all intelligent beings, that is * 4 the whole 
purchased possession." God's purpose will be exe- 
cuted. 
The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, surely as 

I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I 
have purposed so shall it stand — for the Lord of 
hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? 
And his hand is stretched out and who shall turn it 
back? Isa xix: 24 — 27. I have spoken it, 1 will 
also bring it to pass; 1 have purposed it, I will also 
do it. Isa. xlvi: 11. Who hath saved us and called 
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, 
but according to his own purpose and grace, which 
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. 

II Tim. i : 9. 

If God had no purpose he would not be God. If 
a bad purpose he would not be a father. He had a 
good purpose. It embraces the moral universe. It 
will be fulfilled in the holiness and happiness of all 
mankind. It is sometimes said that the Divine will 
is defeated. 

O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the 
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto 
thee; how often would I have gathered thy children 
together, even as a hen gathereth her brood under 
her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house 
is left unto you desolate. Matt.xxiii: 37, 38. 

But such critics do not read the next verse: 

For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, 
till ye shall say. Blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord. 

It was a postponement, bu,t not a defeat, of the 
will of Christ. Thus God's Will, Purpose and 
Pleasure are all invested in the work of universal 
redemption, and his will, purpose and pleasure will 



84 god's will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 

be accomplished, for they will remain eternally the 
same, inasmuch as he is " without variableness or 
shadow of turning." James i: 17. God wills, and 
Christ wills universal salvation, the people shall be 
willing, and God's will shall be done. 

He has pledged his sacred promise to render all his 
offspring holy and happy. In the beginning he an- 
nounced the temporal duration of sin, and the 
death of evil. 

And I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) 
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; 
it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his 
heel. Gen. Hi : 15. 

What is the serpent or man's tempter? 

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away 
of his own lust and enticed. James i: 14. 

Satan and his w^orks are the lusts of the flesh, and 
are to be destroyed. 

For as much, then, as the children are partakers 
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took 
part of the same, that through death he might de- 
stroy him that had the power of death, that is, the 
devil: and deliver them, who through fear of death 
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb. ii : 
14, 15. For this purpose the Son of God was man- 
ifested, that he might destroy the works of the 
devil. I John Hi: 8. 

This promise he renewed to the patriarchs and 
confirmed to the apostles. 

In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 
Gen. xii: 3. In thy seed shall all the nations of the 
earth be blessed. Gen. xxii : 18. I will perform 
my oath which 1 sware unto Abraham thy father, 
and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of 
heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these 
countries; and in thy seed shall ail the nations of 
the earth be blessed. Gen.xxvi: 3,4. And in thee, 
and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed. Gen. xxviii : 14. Ye are the children of the 



god's will, pleasure, plkpose, etc. 85 

prophets, and of the covenant which God made with 
our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed 
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto 
you first, God, having raised up his Son, Jesus, sent 
him to bless you, in turning away every one of you 
from his iniquities. Acts iii: 25,26. And the Scrip- 
ture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen, 
through faith, preached before the gospel unto 
Abraham saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. 
Gal.: iii 8. N"ow to Abraham and his seed were the 
promises made. He saith not, and to seeds as of 
many; but, as of one. and to thy seed, which is 
Christ. Ga I. iii : 16. 

All the nations, families and kindreds of the earth 
are to be blessed with a gospel blessing, to consist 
in being turned away from iniquity, and the Uni- 
versalist can plead the promise of God for his faith. 
" That anchor holds." 

He will fulfill his promise, 

God is not a man that he should lie, neither the 
son of man that he should repent. Hath he said 
and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken and shall 
he not make it good? Num. xxiii: 19. For what if 
some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make 
the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, 
let God be true but every man a liar. Bom. iii: 3,4. 
For all the promises of God in him are yea t and in 
him amen. 11 Cor. i : 20. 

God has confirmed his promise by an oath. He has 
sworn to redeem all mankind from sin and error. 

I have sworn by myself; the word has gone out of 
my mouth andshatt not return, that unto me every 
knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear surely 
shall say, in the Lord have I righteousness and 
strength. Isa. xlv : 23. For men verily swear by the 
greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an 
end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more 
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the 
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an 
oath: that by two immutable things, in which it 
was impossible for God to lie. we might have a 



86 god's will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 

strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay- 
hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we 
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stead- 
fast, and which entereth into that within the vail; 
whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, 
made a high priest forever after the order of Mel- 
chisedek. Reb. pi: 16 — 20. 

Thus we have god's affidavit to plead in evi- 
dence of our faith. 
Jesus is the appointed means to accomplish this end. 

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me 
and to finish his work. John iv : 34. Thy will be 
done, Matt, vi : 10, was his prayer. God sent not 
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but 
that the world through him might be saved. John 
Hi : 17. We have seen and do testify that the Father 
sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. I John 
iv : 14. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto me. John xii : 32. 

God wills the salvation of all men. 
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come 
unto the knowledge of the truth. / Tim. ii: 4 

The will of God shall be done. 

He doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; and 
none can stay his hand, or say unto him. What doest . 
thou ? Dan. iv : 35. 

The will of God is law, alike in the spiritual 
as in the material world. It must ultimately be 
accomplished. 

God purposes to save all men. 

Having made known unto us the mystery of his 
will, according to his good pleasure which he hath 
purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the 
fullness of times, he might gather together in one 
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and 
which are on earth, even in him. Eph. i: 9,10. 

God's purpose will be executed. 



god's will, pleasure, purpose, etc. 87 

My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleas- 
ure. Isa. xlvi : 10. 

God promises to save all men. 

Ye are the children of the prophets and of the 
covenant which God made with our fathers, saying 
unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds 
of the earth be blessed. Acts Hi: 25. 

God will fulfill his promises. 

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and 
in him amen, unto the glory of God by us. II Cor. 
i:20. 

God makes oath that he will save all men. 

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of 
my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, 
that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear, surely shall say, in the .Lord have I 
righteousness and strength. Isa xlv : 23, 29. 

And God will make good his oath. 

Wherein, God willing more abundantly to show 
unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his 
counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two im- 
mutable things, in which it was impossible for God 
to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have 
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before 
us. Heb. vi : 17, 18. 

Jesus will accomplish the work he came to do. 

He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be 
satisfied. Isa. liii: 1. Wherefore God also hath 
highly exalted him, and given him a name which 
is above every name; that at the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and 
things in earth, and things under the earth; and 
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ 
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Phil, ii : 
9 — 11. 

What God wills, He purposes ; what He pur- 
poses, He promises ; what He promises He makes 
oath to,sends hls son to accomplish, and jesus 
does accomplish. 



88 YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN. 

YE MUST BE BOBN AGAIN. 

In this language addressed by Jesus to Nicodemus, 
(John Hi: 7,) is the perpetual declaration of the 
Almighty Father to all who are unregenerated, and 
it will continue to be uttered, as long as there is an 
unregenerated soul. Usually it is understood as ex- 
pressing what ought to be, but it also expresses 
what God has determined shall be — what must be 
will be. " Ye must be born again," is prophetic of 
all human beings. 

A CONDITIONAL PBOMISE. 

I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me. John xii : 32. 

Here Jesus predicates universal salvation on his 
crucifixion. " If I am crucified," he says, M I will 
ultimately artract all men unto myself." For he 
said this (verse 33) to signify the mode of his death. 
The conditions have been complied with; he has 
been crucified. We must believe in the result an- 
nounced, or we deny the declaration of Jesus him- 
self. 

SIN BUBNED; SINNEBS SAVED. 

Paul declares: 

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer 
loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire, 
/ Cor. Hi : 15. 

EVEBY SOUL WOBTH SAVING. 

Thererefore judge nothing before the time, until 
the Lord come, who both will bring to light the 
hidden things of darkness, and will "make manifest 
the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man 
have praise of God. / Cor. iv : 5. 

COMFOBT FOB ALL. 

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all 



heaven's joys certain. 89 

comfort ; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, 
that we may be able to comfort them which are in 
any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves 
are comforted of God. II Cor. i : 3, 4. 

What can the Christian say to those who mourn 
the death of unrepentant friends, that will comfort 
them — i% those in any trouble" — except that they 
are still in the hands of Divine Grace, who will do 
for and by them better than their dearest friends 
can ask or think? Only the Universalist faith can 
comfort those in any trouble. 

HEAVEN'S JOYS OEM TAIN. 

For we know that if our earthly house of this tab- 
ernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 
II Cor. v : 1. 

The apostle could not know this, unless it de- 
pended on God's immutable purpose. If human 
weakness or sin could sacrifice it, then Paul could 
only hope or believe that he might have such a house. 
His certainty renders its existence absolute, and its 
inheritance sure. 

THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HO PEP 
FOB. 

Paul gives one grand definition of Christian faith : 
" It is the substance of things hoped for." Heb. xi: 
1. What partial view of God's redeeming grace 
merits this description? What do all Christians 
ardently hope for, but the ultimate deliverance of 
allsouls from the thraldom of sin? 

THE WICKEDEST SAVED. 

The apostle Peter addressed the wickedest of 
human beings, those who committed the worst act 
ever perpetrated, the murder of the sinless Savior, 
as destined to salvation, after having received the 
just penalty of their sins. He said : 



90 THE IMAGE OF GOD. 

Ye men of Israel, hear these words ; Jesus of 
Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by 
miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by 
him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know ; 
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel 
and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by 
wicked hands have crucified and slain. Acts ii: 22, 23. 

And when they were " pricked to the heart " he 
added: 

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ, lor the remission of sins, and 
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For 
the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to 
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our 
God shall call, (vs. 38, 39). 

It is not possible that the promise was to these 
men, and that they are to be saved, and any less 
wicked than they "lost." Their deliverance in- 
sures the redemption of all. Hence Peter adds to 
the same wicked people: 

Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and de- 
sired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed 
the Prince of Life. Ye are the children of the 
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with 
our fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed 
shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto 
you first, God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent 
him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from 
his iniquities. Acts Hi: 14, 25. 

THE IMAGE OF GOD. 

Jesus was 

The image of the invisible God. Col. i: 15. The 
brightness of his glory and the express image of 
his person. Heb. i: 3. 

That is, in all his conduct, in every trait of his 
disposition, he was just like God, and did just what 
God would have done. How did he treat sinners? 
To the woman taken in adultery, he said, "Go, and 
sin no more. John viii : To Thomas, the skeptic, 



THE IMAGE OF GOD. 91 

who refused to credit his resurrection, he showed 
the evidence of that great fact in his hands, his feet, 
and his side. John xx. To Peter, denying with 
oaths and curses that he had ever known Kim, he 
looks with pity and grief, and the heart of the false 
disciple is melted. John xviii. To Saul, hating him 
and persecuting his followers, he sends no stroke of 
doom to annihilate him, but the opening heavens 
are radiant with light as he arrests the cruel perse- 
cutor with the unanswerable question, u Saul, Saul, 
why persecutest thou me ? " Acts ix : 4. For those 
who nailed him to the cross his last breath is a 
prayer that they may be forgiven for their unpar- 
alleled crime. Luke xxiii.'M. Was it the prayer 
of faith, and will that prayer be answered? Christ 
was the friend of sinners in this world; is he their 
friend now? Will he always be their friend? If 
not, is he the same yesterday, to-day, and forever? 
As God's image he will always remain the loving 
friend of sinners, employing all possible means for 
their improvement and welfare. His whole life was 
in the same spirit. He invoked no vengeance, de- 
manded no bloody sacrifice, either of the sinner or 
of a vicarious substitute, but pity, mildness, mercy 
and love went from him towards even the vilest of 
the vile. God must treat the skeptic, the profane, 
the cruel, the murderer, the wicked of every grade 
in the same manner, or the resemblance between 
image and original would be destroyed. Can God 
justify the resemblance to Christ, unless, though he 
punish, he continues to love, and employs all his 
infinite attributes, and all the ages of eternity if 
need be, in the blessed work of purifying and sav- 
ing his children from the sins that alienate them 
from him? This was the work that always occupied 



92 . JPAUL'S HOPE. 

Jesus, that still occupies him as he sits at the right 
hand of the Father. As truly as Jesus is the image 
of God, the Father must always thus be employed, 
until the last exile from the home of th'e soul re- 
turns to allegiance, and duty, and heaven. 
PAUL'S HOPE. 

I aul hoped that the unjust would be raised. He 
said: 

I have hope towards God that there shall be a 
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of 
the unjust. Acts xxiv : 15. 

He must have believed that the resurrection of 
the unjust would be a moral as well as an existen- 
tial anastasis. He might believe in it, if it were 
an unhappy fate, but he could not hope for it. Hope 
is compounded of desire and expectation. He 
therefore expected and desired the resurrection of 
the unjust. Only a demon could desire their rising 
if it were to a condition of endless torment. 
But Paul, whose heart always yearned for human 
happiness, tells us that the unjust will rise into an 
improved condition, a desirable and therefore good 
and happy existence, when h6 says he hopes for the 
resurrection of the unjust. Hoping for it he demon- 
strates that he believed it to be something desira- 
able, a benefit to them. 

THE GLAD TIDINGS OF GOD. 

The apostle Paul, in the first verse of the first 
chapter of his letter to the church in Rome, calls 
Christianity "The Glad Tidings of God." gospel, 
(euaggelion). His writings show that he delighted 
to dwell on the universal grace and mercy of God. 
He announces it in scores of passages, found in this 
book, and asks concerning those who deny it: 

What if some did not believe? Shall their unbe- 



THE UNIVERSAL DELIVERANCE. 93 

lief make the faith of God without effect? God 
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. 
Bom. Hi: 3. Believe what? That 

THE UNIVEBSE SHALL BE DELIV- 
ERED FBOM 8 IN. 

Paul says : 

The creature itself also shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty 
of the children of God. Bom. viii : 21. 

1. Dr. Macknight says " Ktis is" (the creature in 
this passage) " signifies every human creature." 
Prof. Stuart declares its meaning to be, as in Mark 
xvi; 15, and Col. i : 23, " mankind in general." 

2. It is subject to evil. 

3. It has a hope of deliverance. 

4. It shall be delivered. 

5. Into the liberty of God's angels, or children. 
Though not yet accomplished it is the province of 
Christian faith to believe in this result, and thus 
eat celestial fruit on earthly ground. Hence the 
same apostle says : 

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his 
feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, 
he left nothing that is not put under Jiim. But now 
we see not yet all things put under him. But we 
see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the 
angels for the suffering of death, crowned with 
glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should 
taste death for every man. Heb. ii : 8, 9. 

The subjection of all men to Christ is like that of 
Christ to God. 

And when ail things shall be subdued unto him, 
(hupotayee) then shall the Son also himself be subject, 
(hupotageesetai),uu to him that put all things under 
(hupotazanti) him. that God may be all in all. I Cor. 
xv : 28. Fori would not, brethren, that ye should be 
ignorant of this mystery lest ye should be wise in your 
own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to 
\ 7 



94 WHAT GOD WILL DO. 

Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 
And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, there 
shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn 
away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my cove- 
nant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 
Bom. xi : 25 — 27. 

It is therefore a willing service, the love and 
homage of faithful and obedient children. All men 
are to be subject to Christ with the same subjection under 
which Christ is subject to God. 

WHAT GOD WILL NOT DO. 

He will not always chide. Ps. ciii: 9. He will 
not contend forever. Isa. Ivii : 16. He will not 
cest off forever. Lam. Hi : 31. He will not retain 
his anger forever. Micah vii : 18. 

WHAT GOD WILL DO. 

He will have all men to be saved and to come unto 
the knowledge of the truth. / Tim. ii: 4. He will 
swallow up death in victory, and wipe tears from 
off all faces. Isa. xxv: 8. He will destroy the devil. 
Heb. ii: 14. He will destroy the works of the devil. 
I John Hi: 8. He will destroy man's last enemy. 
I Cor. xv. 26. He will reconcile all things unto him- 
self. Col. i; 19, 20. He will finish sin, make an end of 
transgression, and bring in everlasting righteous- 
ness. Dan. ix: 24. 

SIN, SA TAN, DMA TH AND HELL 
DESTBOYED. 

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of 
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part 
of the same; that through death he might destroy 
him that had the power of death, that is the devil, 
and deliver them who through fear of death, were 
all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb. ii: 14, 15. 
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, 
that he might destroy the works of the devil. IJohn 
Hi : 8. 

The Kevelator saw the work accomplished. 

Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. 
Bev. xx : 14. 



ALL SHALL BE RIGHTEOUS. 95 

This denotes their destruction. Paul declares: 

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death. 
/ Cor. xv : 26. 

The words "that" and "is" are supplied by the 
translators. The passage as Paul wrote it is " The 
last enemy shall be destroyed, Death." So whether 
we suppose he meant physical or moral death, it 
is to be destroyed, and all other enemies are to be 
destroyed previously. Death is the last. This is 
what caused the apostle to exclaim triumphantly: 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is 
thy victory ? / Cor. xv : 55. 

There is no sting, no victory. Then there is no 
sin. "The sting of death is sin," and Christ is 
victorious over sin and death, by accomplishing 
their destruction. These passages teach that Jesus 
became mortal to destroy man's enemies, the devil, 
sin, and death, and that he succeeded in his great 
mission, leaving not an enemy of man in existence, 
when he had finished his work. 

" O'er every foe victorious, 

He on his throne shall rest, 
From age to age more glorious — 

All blessing and all blest. 
The tide of time shall never 

His covenaut remove, 
His name shall stand forever 

That name to us is Love." 

ALL SHALL BE BIGHTEOUS 
Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall 
inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, 
the work of my hands, that 1 may be glorified. Isa. 
Ix: 21. 

Who are his people ? 

Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save 
his people from their sins." Matt, i: 21. 
His people are sinners, and as " all have sinned, 



96 ALL SHALL BE RIGHTEOUS. 

and come short of the glory of God," all men are 
sinners, and all are u his people." U A11 souls are 
his," and though all have gone out of the way in 
sin, all are to return to willing obedience. 

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of 
my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, 
that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear, surely shall say, in the Lord have I 
righteousness and strength. Isa xlv : 23, 24. 

And that word shall be fulfilled: 

It shall not return unto me void; but it shall ac- 
complish that which I please, and it shall prosper 
in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa. Iv : 11. 

Hence we read: 

I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy pos- 
session. Ps. ii : 8. Thou has given him power over 
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many 
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, 
that they might know thee the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. John xvii: 2, 3. 
And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for 
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 
Uohnii : 2. He gave himself a ransom for all. / 
Tim. ii : 6. He tasted death for every man. Heb. 
ii: 9. 

Jesus foresaw and announced this when he said: 

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, (crucified) 
will draw all men unto me. John xii: 32. All that 
the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him 
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 
vi : 37 

This explains the meaning of such passages as 
these : 

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and 
worship before thee. Ps. Ixxxvi: 9. Unto thee 
shall all flesh come. Ps. Ixv : 2. All the ends of 
the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord. 
Ps. xxii: 27. And they shall teach no more every 
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say- 



ALL DESTINED TO GOD. 9/ 

ing, know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from 
the least of them, unto the greatest of them, saith 
the Lord, and 1 will forgive their iniquity, and I 
will remember their sins no more. Jer. xxxi : 34. 
For it pleased the Father that in him should all 
fulness dwell; and having made peace through the 
blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto 
himself; by him 1 say, whether they be things in 
earth or things in heaven. Col. i: 19, 20. 

Archbishop Newcome and Prof. Stuart say "all 
things" here mean "all intelligent beings." Thus 
all souls are to be converted to God, and universal 
holiness will prevail. 

ALL DESTINED TO GOD. 

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all 
things: to whom be glory forever. Bom. xi : 36. 

Can human language more fully state the sublime 
truth of God's universal triumph over sin and death 
in brefer terms, than it is here declared? As truly 
as all souls came from God, and exist by him, they 
shall go to him. For it is of human beings that the 
great apostle is here speaking. Having reached the 
conclusion of universal salvation, what wonder that 
he said: 

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his 
judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who 
hath known the mind of the Lord '? or who hath 
been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to 
him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 
Bom.xi: 33—35. 

And then he closes with that grand epitome: Op 
Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. 
O Thou whose power o'er moving worlds presides, 
Whose voice created and whose wisdom guides; 
On darkling man in pure effulgence shine, 
And clear the clouded mind with light divine. 
'Tis Thine alone to calm the pious breast, 



98 THE PEOPLE WERE ASTONISHED. 

With silent confidence and holy rest; 

From Thee alone we spring, to Thee we tend, 

Path, Motive, Guide, Original and End! 

What wonder that, on hearing this great truth 
for the first time, 

THE PEOPLE WERE ASTONISHED. 

The common people were astonished at his doc- 
trine of the resurrection of all souls to holiness. 
They were familiar with the idea of annihilation, 
and of endless punishment, but universal salvation 
was new to them. No other news could have aston- 
ished them. " They were astonished at his doctrine," 
Matt, xxii : 33. Had he taught annihilation in this 
argument concerning the resurrection, he would not 
have astonished the Sadducees,. had he taught end- 
less punishment he would not have astonished the 
Pharisees and Pagans. But universal salvation 
astonished all because new to all. He taught the 
resurrection of all mankind to an equality with the 
angels. 

UNIVERSAL PARDON AND OBEDI- 
ENCE. 

I will put my law in their inward parts, and write 
it in their hearts; and I will be their God and they 
shall be my people. And they shall teach no more 
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, 
saying, know the Lord; for they shall all know me. 
— u whom to know is life eternal" — from the least 
to the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will 
forgive their iniquities, and 1 will remember their 
sins no more. Jer. xxxi: 33, 34. For all [the house 
of Israel] shall know me, from the least to the 
greatest. Ileb. viii: 11. Because the creature itself 
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corrup- 
tion, into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God. Rom. viii: 21 



CHRIST CANCELS ADAM. 



99 



CUBIST CANCELS ADAM. 
Christ's labors cancel Adam's influence, 



Therefore as by the offence 
of one, judgment came upon all 
men to condemnation, 

But where sin abounded, 

Ap sin hath reigned unto 
death 



As in Adam all die 

For as by one man's disobe- 
dience many were made sinners, 



even so by the righteous- 
ness of one, the free gift came 
upon all men unto justification 
of life. Rom. v: 18. 
grace did much more abound. 
Rom. v: 20. 

evfcn so might grace reigu 
through righteousness unto 
eternal life, by Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Rom. v.- 21. 
even so in Christ shall ail be 
m de alive. / Cor. xv: 32. 
8 o by the obedience of one 
shall many be made righteous." 
Rom. v: 19. 



Here observe : 

1. All mankind are to be made alive. 

2. They are to live " in Christ." 

3. They are therefore to be new creatures, for 
4 *if any man be in Christ he is a new creature.' , II 
Cor. v : 17. 

4. They wear the heavenly image. 

5. Grace reigns wherever sin has borne sway. 

6. The exact number "made sinners," namely, 
all men, are " made righteous." 

This is 

A HEALTHFUL DOCTB1JSFE. 
A belief in universal salvation exerts a good moral 
influence. 

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation to 
all men hath appeared teaching us that denying 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live so- 
berly, righteously and godly in this present world. 
Titus ii: 11,12. 

This is the true reading. God's grace hath not 
appeared to all men, but it bringeth salvation to 
all. 



100 NO MOKE SORROW. 

NO 3IOBE SOB BOW. 

The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
faces. Isa. xxv : 8. 

Can there be a hell full of agony and wo? Must 
not heaven, then, be universal? 

UNIVEBSAL OBEDIENCE PBOPHE- 
SIED. 

All the ends of the world shall remember and 
turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of • the 
nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom 
is the Lord's, and he is the governor among the na- 
tions. Psalms xxii : 27, 28. All kings shall fall 
down before him ; all nations shall serve him, all 
men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall call 
him blessed. Psalm Ixxii : 11, 17. All nations 
whom thouhastmade shall come and worship be- 
fore thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. Psalm 
Ixxxvi: 9. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 
and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of 
the Lord hath spoken it. Isa. xl: 5. 

When all the ends of the world turn to God and 
worship, then w r ill be universal obedience. 

THE UNIVEBSAL PBOPITIATION. 

And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the 
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but 
also for the sins of the whole world. I John it : 1, 2. 

Have the sins of the whole world been propitiated ? 
If so, can payment be asked again? Christ has done 
for all what he has done for any. The fate of each, 
so far as Christ is concerned, must be the fate of 
all. 

THEIB WOBKS FOLLOW THEM. 

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, 
write, Blessed are the dead which die in" the Lord 
from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
may rest from their labors; and their works do fol- 
low them. Bev. xiv : 13. 



THEIR WORKS FOLLOW THEM. 101 

Not the belief, the faith, or the moral and spiritual 
condition of the last moments of life is here al- 
luded to, but the works. That is, the works of the 
spirit. These are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. 
Gal.v: 22,23. These follow the spirit into the 
other world. The Bible does not teach that the 
works of the flesh follow the dead. These are adul- 
tery, fornication, uncleanliness, lasciviousness, idol- 
atry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, 
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunk- 
enness, revelings, and such like. Gal. v : 19 — 21. 
These perish at the death of the body: 

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) 
dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with 
me; but how to perform that which is good, 1 find 
not. For the good that I would, I do not; but the 
evil which 1 would not, that I do. Now if 1 do that 
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that 
dwelleth in me, I find then a law, that when 1 
would do good, evil is present with me, For I de- 
light in the law of God, after the inward man: but 
I see another law in my members warring against 
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captiv- 
ity to the law of sin which is in my members. O 
wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ? Bom. viz : 18 — 24. 

This explains Paul's words : 

For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh 
(not of the spirit) reap corruption. Gal.vi: 8. 

The works of the flesh perish with the flesh, but 
the works of the spirit survive with the spirit. 
All that is worthless dies. 

Every man's work shall be made manifest : for the 
day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by 
fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what 
sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath 
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any 



102 THE BUILDING OF GOD SURE, 

man s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but 
he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. J Cor. 
Hi: 13 — 15. 

THE BUILDING OF GOD SUBE. 

For we know that, if our earthly house of this 
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens. II Cor. v : 1. 

Did the reader ever reflect that the apostle could 
not say- " we know" that we have an eternal mansion, 
if its acquisition depended on man's efforts, or if 
any possible act of his could forfeit it? He might 
hope for it, but it would not be certain. His cer- 
tainty demonstrates that the title rests not on 
man's conduct, which might forfeit it, but on God'3 
absolute purpose. Every Christian can say "we 
know," because God in his house of many mansions 
has reserved one tenement for each immortal tenant, 
and at some time in the far future each son and 
daughter of God will find and occupy his predestined 
home. We can only read our title clear, and say 
with Paul " we know," when we ieel that we can 
neither earn nor forfeit that title, but that our 
occupancy depends on one whose purpose cannot 
fail. 

GOD HATES SIN. 

Sin is the abominable thing that his soul hateth. 
He could not, therefore, so stultify himself as to 
build an eternal hell, and perpetuate sin. But he 
loves the sinner. He will, therefore, destroy the 
sinner's foes, all his enemies, even the last. — 

The last enemy shall be destroyed, death, i" Cor. 
xv : 26. 

GOD ALL IN ALL. 
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, 



god's glory. 103 

then shall the son also himself be subject unto him 
that put all things under him, that God may be all 
in all. I Cor. xv : 28. 

When he is all in all can the devil be in any? 

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power 
to us ward who believe, according to the working of 
his mighty pow r er, which he wrought in Christ when 
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own 
right hand in the heavenly places, far above all 
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
and every name that is named, not only in this 
world, but also in that which is to come: and hath 
put all things under his feet, and gave him to be 
the head over all things to the church, which is 
his body, the fulness of *him that lilleth all in all. 
Eph.i: 19—23. 

GOD'S GLOBY. 

God's glory can only be promoted by the salvation 
of all his children. Good music glorifies the musi- 
cian, good machinery the machinist, a good farm 
the farmer, good children a father. Success glorifies, 
and defeat shames. God designs a holy race. He 
can only be glorified by universal holiness. Hence 
he says: u Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." JPs. 
I: 23. And the "honor and the power and the 
glory" can only belong to him when his efforts to 
redeem all shall issue in the redemption of all. 
GOD A UNIVEBSAL SAVIOB. 

Every soul is under perpetual obligations to re- 
gard God as his personal Savior. Then the doctrine 
must be true. God must be the final personal Savior 
of all, or those of whom he is not the Savior are 
commanded to believe a lie, but because he is, those 
who do not believe make God a liar, by their un- 
belief. 

He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, 
because he believeth not the record that God gave 



104 WHY PAUL WAS PERSECUTED. 

of his Son. And this is the record, that God has 
given us eternal life; and this life is in his Son. IJohn 
v: 10,11. 

That is the divine plan, and all the means have 
been adopted to insure success. In the Divine mind 
the future is the present, what is to be, is. Thus 
God is the Savior of all men. This was 

WHY PAUL WAS PERSECUTED. 

It was for preaching Universal Salvation. He 
says : 

For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, 
because we trust in the living God who is the Savior 
of all men especially of those that believe. / Tim. 
iv : 10. 

Paul does not claim that he was persecuted for 
teaching that God had made it possible for all to be 
saved, but for declaring that God is actually the 
Savior of all men. Had he inculcated the Methodist 
or Presbyterian scheme of partial salvation, he 
would have agreed, substantially, with the heathen 
and the Jews. They believed in a partial God who 
would save but a part. Had the apostles taught 
only that, they would not have been reproached. 
But believing in the salvation of all, they were 
persecuted. Had they been partialists as were the 
Jews and the heathen would they have been perse- 
cuted for teaching that God is the universal Savior? 
Can God be the Savior of those he does not save? 
If any one is lost, is God the Savior of all men ? Is 
he in any sense the Savior of unbelievers? He is 
not the especial Savior of believers, unless he is 
the actual Savior of all. Paul suffered reproach for 
no other reason than for teaching that God is a 
universal Savior. 

ALL ABE TO BE BTGHTEOUS. 
All will confess righteousness: 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION. 105 

Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear, surely shall say, in the Lord have I 
righteousness and strength. Isa xlv : 24. . 

This confesses the Lordship of Jesus. 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and 
given him a name which is above every name ; that at 
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things 
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under 
the earth; and that every tongue should confesss 
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 
Father. Phil ii : 9 — 11. 

This is not compelled, but voluntary. 

No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the 
Holy Ghost, / Cor. xii : 3. 

Hence, the attractions of the cross will win the 
loving allegiance of all souls, at the last. 

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw 
all men unto me. John xii: 32. 

This condition is now fulfilled, he has been cru- 
cified, the conclusion follows in due time. 

Then cometh the end, when he shall have deliv- 
ered up the kingdom to God even the Father, when 
he shall have put down all rule and all authority, 
and power. For he must reign till he hath put all 
enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall 
be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things 
under his feet. But when he saith all things are 
put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted 
which did put all things under him. And when 
all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the 
Son also himself be subject unto him that put all 
things under him, that God may be all in all. I Cor. 
xv : 24 — 28. 

THE FINAL CONSUMMATION. 

The apostle describes the "far-off divine event 
to which the whole creation moves," thus : 

For this is the covenant that I will make with 
the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; 
I will put my laws into their mind, and write them 



106 THE FINAL CONEUMMATION. 

in their hearts: and I will be to them a God and 
they shall be to me a people: and they shall not 
teach every man his neighbor, and every man his 
brother, saying, know the Lord; for all shall know 
me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be 
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and 
iniquities will I remember no more. Heb.viii : 10 — 12. 

And the Apocalyptic seer saw all men happy 
when he beheld the final consummation: 

Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth 
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and 
all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and 
honor, and glory, and power be unto him thatsitteth 
on the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. 
Bev. v: 13. And I heard a great voice out of heaven 
saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be 
their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither 
sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain: for the former things are passed away. Bev. 
xxi : 2 — 4, 

We have thus indicated the chief passages that 
teach the doctrine of universal salvation. We have 
not quoted all of them, nor have we quoted that 
spirit which is without measure, and which can not 
be reduced to chapter and verse, which pervades the 
Bible — the divine aroma that sweetens and per- 
fumes the Book of books. The love and character 
of God, and the life and spirit of Christ are forever 
at war with the idea of endless hate and ceaseless 
torment, and breathe that holy spirit that will have 
nothing less than universal reconciliation to God, 
universal holiness among men. The few passages 
we have quoted unmistakably teach the great truth 
inculcated by all God's attributes, and that was the 
vital breath of him who came to do God's will 



THE FINAL CONSUMMATION. 107 

among men, and who successfully accomplisned his 
great mission, in reconciling universal humanity to 
its God and Father. When God's plans shall have 
been completed, 

Then the end, beneath his rod 

Man's last enemy shall fall; 
Hallelujah! Christ in God, 
God in Christ is all W ALL. 



THE NEW COVENANT 

Is the Universalist Paper of the Northwest , It is pub- 
lished in Chicago, 111., at $2.60 a year in advance, including 
postage. Volume XXX began January 1st, 1877, 
J. W. HANSON, ». »., 

Editor and Manager. 

All Universalist publications can be procured at the 
Covenant Office, and they will be sent by mail on receipt 
of price, to any part of the country. 



The Word Everlasting. 

The editor of the New Covenant has explored the 
word Everlasting-Eternal in the Classics, the Old and 
New Testaments, and the Christian Fathers, and found the 
usage from 500 B. C. to 500 A. D. to be LIMITED and 
not ENDLESS DURATION. Every passage in the 
Bible where the word occurs is referred to, and all the pas- 
sages where it is connected with punishment are fully 
explained. It is an unanswerable demonstration that the 
doctrine of Endless Punishment has no support from the 
zvords Everlasting and Eternal in the Bible. The book is 
a neat octavo volume, well printed and bound, and can be 
sent to any part of the world by mail, on receipt of 75 
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